Rewriting Fate
by smiling inside
Summary: A tale of a girl who saw the world through dreams, a boy who's fate was changed, a battle against the inevitable and a love that would last forever ...COMPLETE...
1. A look into the future

**A/N: Hey guys, this is the first fic I have written alone. The idea came to me last night when I couldn't sleep so I wrote it down. I'm not sure if I like it but I thought I would post it anyways and see what other people thought of it.**

**I will continue if anyone is interested in it. O.K I will stop talking now and let you read, it's not very long but I will make any future chapters longer. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. SOB**

* * *

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_The train came to a sudden stop, Hermione peered out of the window. They were passing through a field, nowhere near Hogwarts yet. Outside it was raining, the seventh year girl shivered._

"_What's going on Hermione?" asked Harry alarmed. She put a reassuring hand over his. Hermione could tell he was scared, last time the train stopped on it's journey to Hogwarts they'd had a little visit from the Dementors._

"_I don't know," she whispered back, "maybe I can go ask McGonagall. Head girl and boy are usually informed about this sort of thing."_

"_No." quavered Ron, "Stay with us." _

_Hermione nodded and the three sat huddled together until someone unexpected opened the compartment door. _

* * *

Hermione Granger awoke with a start. She shivered slightly and glanced over at Harry and Ron, they were playing exploding wizard snap. A small smile lifted the corners of her mouth as she watched Ron slip a card from his sleeve and into his deck; she turned to look out the window. It was raining. Her thoughts wondered to her dream and she knew what was going to happen next. 

The train screeched to a sudden stop.

"What's going on Hermione?" asked Harry alarmed.

"Ministry officials. They're checking the train." She put a reassuring hand over Harry's.

"How do you know?" asked Ron bewildered.

Hermione shrugged and attempted to sound offhand, "McGonagall told me," she hated lying to them. When she saw Harry's unconvinced face she added, "Harry, I'm head girl this year, they tell me this sort of thing!"

They sat huddled together until a tall wizard opened the compartment door. He looked around carefully, eyeing the three students suspiciously. Ron, who was never one for subtlety asked,

"What do you need to raid the train for?" he asked

The wizard raised a brow, "Just a routine check." With one final look around he left. Minutes later the train resumed its journey as if nothing had happened.

Ron snorted, "Routine check! Since when is _that _routine?"

"It's obvious," said Harry in a low voice, "after the death eaters attacked all those people last year, safety measures have been ridiculously high. They want to make sure nothing can get into Hogwarts that will put the students at risk."

Ron nodded darkly, then glanced at Hermione.

"What do you think Hermione?" He asked noticing her vacant look. Hermione gave a small shrug and looked back out the window. It was getting dark outside and the rain hadn't eased up.

Hermione twisted her hands in her lap uncomfortably. She wanted to tell Ron and Harry about her dreams; after all they were her best friends. But what if they laughed at her or didn't believe her? What if they thought she was crazy? These insecurities floated through her mind, and as poor as the excuse was, she decided to put off telling them once again.

Harry and Ron resumed their card game. Hermione sat in silence and was only disturbed from her thoughts when a second year boy walked into the compartment looking rather nervous.

"Hermione Granger?" He asked. When she nodded he continued, "You have to be up in the front carriage, McGonagall wants to see you for head girl duties." Hermione nodded again, waved goodbye to Ron and Harry and followed the small boy to the front of the train.

She opened the door gently to find Professor McGonagall seated inside with Draco Malfoy. It took Hermione a few long seconds to work out that Malfoy must be head boy; she inwardly groaned but said nothing.

"Take a seat Miss Granger." The teacher said. "I would firstly like to congratulate you both on your positions as head boy and girl. I expect you to set an example for the younger students to follow." She looked pointedly at Draco.

Both Hermione and Draco nodded before she continued; "You will be organising social events, helping teachers and other such things." She looked grim as she said the next part; "I expect you both know it is tradition for head boy and girl to share common room." Draco, who had obviously not known this, looked outraged. Hermione sighed, she had completely forgotten.

"I want no arguments!" added McGonagall. "That is all." And with that she swept out of the compartment leaving behind two speechless teenagers.

"Filthy mudblood." Draco muttered after a while. Hermione chose to ignore this, which angered Malfoy even more. All things considered, this year was going to be difficult to say the least.

* * *

Hermione sat in-between Ron and Harry in the great hall. They were talking merrily about anything that came to mind, and Ron was on his fifth bowl of chocolate sponge cake. 

Dumbledore stood up and tapped his fork gently on the side of his glass for silence before he began his usual speech. Hermione was too tired to listen properly so, instead, she allowed herself to submerse into the little world in her head.

Before she knew it she was waving goodnight to Ron and Harry and just heading off to her new common room when it hit her. No one told her where the new common room was. Hermione started to panic. _Damn._ She thought looking around wildly.

"Lost miss Granger?" Hermione turned around to meet two sparkly eyes. She smiled at the head master.

"I don't know where my common room is." She mumbled.

"Of course, I was heading down there anyway, allow me to escort you," he smiled and led the seventh year girl up a flight of stairs and turning down a corridor Hermione had never been down before. At the end was a large portrait of a smiling mermaid.

"This is it, your password is 'blue-bird,' you and Mr. Malfoy may change it when you come to a suitable agreement on one." His eyes twinkled for a moment. "Goodnight," and with that he walked back down the corridor leaving Hermione standing in front of the portrait. The mermaid was brushing her hair.

The seventh year girl repeated the password the head master had given her and walked into the common room as the portrait swung open. She looked around in awe.

The walls were painted silver and red. There was a large fireplace and a sofa filled with comfortable looking cushions. There was a large bookcase in the corner of the room, and, there were of course two staircases, one leading up to Hermione's bedroom, and one to Draco's. Hermione Granger stifled a yawn and walked up the stair case to her room; only too ready to go to sleep.

She pulled on her Pyjamas and headed towards a door she could only assume adjoined to the bathroom. She assumed right.

As she walked in she was startled to find some one already in there. Draco stood in shorts and T-shirt brushing his teeth. He spat into the sink before turning to Hermione.

"Get out of my bathroom!" he snarled, Hermione was unfazed by this however and replied calmly,

"It's my bathroom too. "

"Shut up mudblood!" Malfoy growled, "You think you're so smart!"

"What is your problem Malfoy?" Hermione shouted, unable to control her temper.

"You are," he answered simply and with that he walked out of the opposite door leading to his room, leaving a seething Hermione behind.

"Drop dead Malfoy!" she shouted behind him, not knowing how ironic these words would soon be.

* * *

Draco Malfoy sat on his four-poster bed staring out of the open window. It was a cool night and after the rain had stopped, the sky had cleared up leaving the heavens slightly speckled with stars. It was a full moon. 

Usually the sight of a sky that beautiful calmed Malfoy down, or at least put him in a better mood. Tonight however, that was not the case. Somehow, that girl managed to annoy him like no other could.

Draco gave a small sigh. He was back at Hogwarts and was thankful for it; he would not let that mudblood ruin that for him, it was after all his last year, and he wanted to enjoy it. He was glad to be back, away from the manor, away from his father.

It didn't take him long to fall into a dreamless sleep, oblivious to Hermione tossing and turning in bed only a few feet away.

* * *

_Hermione looked at the clock, it was midnight. She heard a cry coming from Draco's room. She got out of bed quickly and ran to his dormitory. She hesitated, unsure if she should enter. Muffled voices could be heard from inside. One belonged to a man, it was cold and sent shivers down Hermione's spine. She could make out what they were saying,_

_"It's done now, he won't bother us anymore."_

_"Come on, let's leave. Dumbledore always knows what going on."_

_"Dumbledore's a fool."_

_She couldn't make out any more of the conversation as there voices were below a whisper. Hermione ran silently back to her room as she heard footsteps approaching the door._

_Once she was sure they were gone, Hermione went back to Draco's room and pushed open the door._

_The blonde boy lay on his bed, a knife sticking out of his stomach, his eyes glazed over, and a pool of blood was rapidly spreading onto the crisp white sheets. He was undoubtedly dead..._

Hermione woke up in a cold sweat. Again.

She looked at the clock. It was midnight.


	2. Messing with fate

**A/N: I just finished writing the second chapter. I was thinking about leaving it a week or so before i posted it, but as you can see i decided against that. **

**I hope you enjoy it and PLEASE review!**

**Disclaimer: I still don't own Harry Potter. **

* * *

Midnight. Hermione granger scrabbled out of bed trying not to panic. She failed. Without giving it a second thought she ran to Draco's dormitory, and stood on the outside of the door for a spilt second. When she was sure the men from her dream were not inside she flung open the door expecting to find Draco slumped on the floor dead. 

Draco sat up with a start, "What the hell do you think you're doing?!" He asked alarmed, and rather angered about being disturbed from his sleep. Hermione gave a sigh of relief before muttering under her breath,

"Some gratitude wouldn't go a miss."

"Gratitude for what Mudblood... waking me!" Draco growled.

Hermione opened her mouth to tell him about her dream but snapped it shut just as fast. There had to be a mistake, her dreams were always right... this didn't make sense. She looked up to find Draco waiting expectantly for an answer.

"Erm... I wanted to say goodnight," Hermione lied, mentally kicking herself for not coming up with a better excuse. Draco smirked.

Hermione glanced down at her watch, it was quarter past midnight. Convinced no one was going to be murdered tonight she left Draco's room and walked back to her own, she climbed into bed knowing full well she wouldn't be able to get to sleep again.

As Draco watched the re-treating back of Hermione, his eyebrows knitted together in concentration, trying to figure out what had happened. He didn't believe for a second Hermione's lame excuse. Something had definitely happened to alarm her... but that still didn't explain why she barged into his room like that.

* * *

Hermione sat on her four-poster staring at the wall opposite. She was deep in thought. All her dreams recently had been warnings; all of them came true, up until now. She wanted to believe it was just a regular nightmare, but something inside her told her it was not. 

She considered telling Dumbledore but he would probably think she was insane. Her thoughts then went to professor Trelawney, however her pride would never let her go to her for advise. As far as she could see it, she was stuck. Usually, when stuck, Hermione turned to books, and now seemed as good a time as any to keep up that habit.

The moment the sun rose, Hermione pulled on her robes and ran to the library. If the librarian was surprised to see her this early in the morning, she did not show it.

Ten minutes later, the head girl was in a corner of the library, her nose stuck in a book, she scanned it quickly, realized it's contents didn't help her in the least and disregarded it, picking another text from the small mountain of books on the table referring to dreams and the future.

Muttering furiously, Hermione slammed yet another useless book down on the table. The librarian looked at the girl in mild amusement.

"Do you need any help Miss Granger?" asked the librarian softly. She usually left the students to their own devises in the library, she didn't like to impose, but she knew miss Granger, and the head girl looked close to tears with frustration (and the fact she had hardly slept during the night did not improve her mood).

"No, I'm just looking..." she trailed off. The librarian looked down at the book, which Hermione had previously disregarded.

"Hold on," she mumbled rummaging through a pile of books in a box she kept behind her own desk, "Here, try this one, I don't know what you're looking for, but, everything from dreams all the way down do premonitions is in here." She smiled as Hermione took the book from her, and then walked off in the opposite direction, letting the girl flick through the book.

Hermione felt as if someone had just opened a light in her mind. She didn't know why she didn't think of it before, and it made perfect sense... what if it hadn't exactly been dreams she was having... more like, premonitions.

She looked it up in the book the librarian had given her and scanned the page quickly.

_Premonitions through dreams are atypical; they are often a warning of things to come. It can be a caution of something to come in the immediate future, or, in some of the rarer cases, a warning of something that will happen in the years to come._

_Only the most powerful of witches and wizards can have a premonition. It is the most unique of gifts, however one must be careful, because knowing the future, gives you a chance to alter it. If used in the wrong way, knowledge of the future is lethal._

_Premonitions through dreams are not always bad however; they can shed light into people's lives._

The passage continued but Hermione had read all she needed. She was almost certain she had been having some kind of premonition. According to the text, Draco's death was a sort of warning, but if Draco's death was fate, then saving him would have 'lethal' consequences as the book had put it.

Hermione sighed. She needed to do more research.

* * *

Draco, as usual woke up one minute before his alarm went off. He turned it off and rolled out of bed heading towards the bathroom. 

He thought over the strange events of the night before as he pulled on his robes and carefully brushed his teeth. By the time he was walking out of the portrait and heading to the great hall, he had come up with a simple conclusion to explain it all, 'Granger was insane.'

He sat down at the Slytherin table taking a careful bite out of a piece of toast, thickly covered with marmite.

* * *

Back in the library, the head girl was having a very heated argument... with herself. 

'I can't save him! It will be messing with fate, and no one is allowed to do that!' argued her logical half.

'But letting him die is just plain mean!' she argued back, to herself, 'plus I must have had that dream for a reason!'

All in all Hermione was confused, tired, and had a headache from arguing with herself.

It didn't take much longer for her to finally decide she had to find a way of stopping him from getting killed. But she still had no idea when it was going to happen, all she knew was that it was going to be after midnight.

Hermione looked down at her watch and suddenly leapt up. She had five minutes before potions started! She picked up her bag and ran out the library, hoping she wouldn't be late.

* * *

The Slytherins had Potions with the Gryffindors, which made the lesson that little bit more interesting for Draco. The lesson had started, and there was no sign of Granger. Draco grinned. Snape was in a filthy mood; she was in for it if she turned up now. 

As if on queue the bushy haired girl walked in panting. She had obviously been running. Snape was upon her like a shot,

"Miss Granger, so nice of you to grace us with your presence," he snarled.

"I'm... so sorry sir... lost track of time," she stuttered, trying to get back her breath.

"Oh, and I suppose you think that's okay now your head girl?" He growled, "ten points from Gryffindor."

"But..." she began.

"Make that thirty for answering back. Now get to your seat!"

Hermione flushed red and took her seat. She glared at Malfoy... this was entirely his fault... how dare he pick such an inconvenient time to be murdered!

Malfoy noticed this glare and frowned, he hadn't even done anything... for once.

The rest of the lesson passed like any other, Gryffindor had lost another thirty-five points, and Neville was in detention for blowing up his cauldron. Twice.

* * *

Hermione bit her lip. She sat in the common room alone, attempting to read a book. She was waiting for Malfoy to come. After much thought and more research she had come to the very sensible conclusion that it was more that likely that Draco's murderers will be paying a little visit tonight. 

After missing diner to do more re-search, she had found a passage, helpfully informing her, that if a premonition did not happen immediately after a person has it... it is most likely to happen within the next twenty four hours.

It was half past eleven. Where the hell was he?!

Twenty minutes later Draco strolled into the common room, surprised to see the Gryffindor girl sitting by the fire staring nervously at her watch. When she spotted him she jumped up and ran towards him.

"What do you want mudblood?" Draco sighed. Hermione said nothing instead dragged him by the arm into her bedroom.

"What the -!" Malfoy mumbled in surprise. Then he smirked, "Granger, I never knew you..."

"Shut up Malfoy." She cut him off. She looked at her watch again. Five minutes to go.

"If you don't tell me what's going on right now I'm leaving!"

"I'm saving your life!" She replied, not bothering to lie.

Malfoy wasn't sure if she was being serious. "What are you talking about?" He demanded. Hermione opened her mouth two answer when she heard the unmistakable sound of footsteps in the common room below. Malfoy looked at her questioningly but she just shook her head and put a finger to her lip signalling for him to be quiet.

Hermione gently opened the door to the shared bathroom so they could listen to what was going on it the next room.

"Where the hell is he?" Demanded a deep voice Hermione recognised from her dream.

"The dark lord re-assured us he would be here." Growled the other, slightly louder than necessary. The first voices shushed him before saying.

"There is nothing we can do, let's leave, Dumbledore always knows what's going on."

"Dumbledore's a fool." Replied the other, "The dark lord will be furious!" He let out an angry howl and stabbed a knife into a near by pillow to let out his frustration. Draco doubled over in pain.

A minute later the men were gone.

Draco clutched onto his stomach trying his best to ignore the pulsating pain. He sat down on the floor and lifted his shirt slightly, on his previously clear skin; there was now a scar just above his belly button.

"It was your fate," mumbled Hermione.

"What are you talking about?" Demanded Draco. "And why the hell did I get this?" he said pointing furiously at the scar. The pain had subsided slightly but it still stung.

Hermione shrugged. Not knowing where to begin.

"TELL ME!" he shouted, unable to control his temper.

"I... dream things, and they happen," she mumbled. Draco looked at her oddly, whatever he had expected, it had not been that.

"And why have I got a scar now?" He asked, choosing not to question her further about her dreams.

"In my dream, they stabbed you, and you died. It was your fate. I changed it, but things aren't that easy. I was reading a book about it, when someone changes fate, you get marked from what would have happened." She sighed before continuing, "Some people die anyway, some don't."

They sat in an uncomfortable silence. At last Draco said, "You didn't have to save me."

Hermione shrugged again, "I'm not the type of person who can let someone die like that, when I have a chance to do something about it." Then she added, "even if it is you."

Draco looked down at the scar wondering if he would have done the same. At last he muttered, "Thank-you."


	3. A sign of things to come

**A/N: I would like to thank: Draco4lyfe, wrc g-rp, Lil' Bode and wingless87 for reviewing, and I hope you enjoy this chapter. **

**Also, to anyone who may read this fic... PLEASE REVIEW!!!**

**Disclaimer: I do not, and never will own the rights to Harry Potter (damn it!)**

* * *

Draco and Hermione were sitting in the common room in front of the fire talking. 

"So you dream things," he asked, "and they happen." Hermione nodded and Draco let out a low whistle. Hermione had spent the last half hour explaining to him what was going on.

"I think I've answered enough questions. Now it's your turn." She stated, "Who were those men and why did they want to kill you?"

Draco looked at his knees. He considered not answering, but he reasoned that she had saved his life and she at least deserved the truth. "They are death eaters." He said bluntly. "They wanted to kill me because I refused to join Voldemort's ranks." Hermione looked surprised.

"You mean you're not a..." she trailed off.

"Death eater?" he finished, when she nodded, he gave a little sigh and said, "No Granger, I'm not."

Although she did not say anything, Hermione was surprised by this revelation. There was no doubt in her mind, until now that Draco was one of Voldemort's followers; after all it was no secret that his father was on the Dark Lord's side.

After a while Hermione's eyebrows knitted together in concentration, at last she finally asked, "There's one thing I don't understand, how did they get into Hogwarts in the first place."

Draco shrugged, and almost smiled at the girls' naivety, "There are ways... half of Slytherin are death eaters, and the other half aspire to be. They probably got help from one of them." Hermione nodded silently, then yawned.

"I'm going to bed," she mumbled and got up, heading towards the staircase. It had been a strange and long night, and up until now she hadn't realised just how tired she was.

"Ok Granger."

She turned around. "Why do you call me that?"

"Call you what?" He asked, confused.

"Granger." She sighed, "My name is Hermione you know." And with that she walked up the last few steps and into her room leaving the blonde boy deep in thought.

Draco Malfoy looked into the fire and let it surround him, as much as he hated to admit it, he was confused. He hated Granger all his life, and she had made it perfectly clear in the past that the feeling was mutual. But she had saved his life, and for that he would always be grateful.

* * *

Lucius Malfoy stood in a dark room; it was unfurnished and full of cobwebs. The only clue, which indicated that someone lived there, was the fire burning on the far wall. He was not alone, a man sat behind a desk in the corner of the room. 

"You called for me master?" Asked Lucius, not quite looking into the Dark Lord's eyes.

"The boy," Voldemort hissed, "he was not killed."

"He was not in his room," Muttered Lucius, his usually powerful persona fast vanishing under the critical glare of the dark lord.

"That is impossible! I used the spell to check."

"You must have checked wrong." Replied Lucius. As soon as the words left his mouth he knew he had made a mistake.

"SILENCE!" His cold voice echoed the room. "DO NOT QUESTION ME!" Lucius knew what was coming next; Voldemort lifted his wand and muttered, "Crucio!" Malfoy doubled over in pain, but made no noise, being used to such punishment for the slightest mistake, never mind a major failure as this one had been. The Dark Lord was livid and it showed in the force and power of the spell he cast. It drove the blonde man to his knees but the torture did not end until Lucius was on the brink of unconsciousness.

"No one refuses to join me! You shall kill him. Or I will do it myself and kill you in the process for your incompetence!"

Lucius flinched slightly when Voldemort raised his voice, then he nodded. If he felt the smallest bit of remorse for having to kill his own son, he did not show it.

"Now leave!" Voldemort commanded.

Lucius did as he was told.

* * *

The next morning Hermione sat at the Gryffindor table with Harry and Ron. The boys were in deep discussion about quidditch, Hermione had a book propped up against the jug of milk and was reading whilst attempting to spoon cereals into her mouth. Neville gave a loud squeak as a package fell on his head; the owl gave a merry hoot, pinched some bacon off the table and flew off. Things seemed to be back to normal. 

"So how was it?" Asked Lavender a little too enthusiastically for Hermione's liking.

"How was what?" The head girl asked slightly annoyed at being interrupted from her reading.

"Sharing a common room with Draco of course!" Squeaked Lavender and Parvati nodded, a dreamy expression on her face.

"Have you seen him with his shirt off yet?" Joined in Ginny, ignoring Ron who fell off his seat and nearly swallowed his spoon.

"It's fine. And no Ginny I haven't" She said quickly.

Ron opened his mouth and let out a strangled cry, he shut it again, thought for a moment and opened his mouth, this time managing to for a coherent sentence, "FINE? What do you mean fine? It's Malfoy you know!"

"Oh." She said, "In that case it was terrible," and with that resumed reading her book and refused to say any more on the matter.

A while later Harry said, whilst prodding her gently with his fork, "come on Hermione, we're going to be late." The girl shoved her book in her bag and followed Harry out of the hall, half heartedly dragging Ron along behind her who was now complaining he hadn't got to finish his third bowl of porridge.

They walked to transfiguration, happily discussing Hagrid's new infatuation with a female giant friend he had met over the summer. Upon reaching the class, they sat in the back row, waiting for McGonagall to arrive.

As always, she entered the classroom neither early, nor late. Instead, she was perfectly on time.

Hermione gave a little sigh and turned to the page in her textbook, which the teacher had indicated to, and began to read, soon, her worries were forgotten as she dipped into the pages of the book, her thought all focused on learning new things.

* * *

When Draco entered the common room later that day, he was disgusted to find the golden trio seated in front of the fire talking in hushed whispers. 

"Granger, you know perfectly well no visitors are allowed in here," he drawled half-heartedly.

"Shut up Malfoy!" jumped up Ron defensively. Much to the ginger boys annoyance, Draco smirked but said nothing, "We just wanted to keep her company. We figured she would be going insane having to share a common room with a ferret like you!"

Draco pulled out his wand. Over the years he had been growing increasingly irate with the Weasley boy and now seemed as good a time as any to curse him within an inch of his life. It did not surprise Draco in the least when Potter (forever being a hero) pulled out his own wand and pointed it squarely at his chest, Ron followed his lead. The three stood like that for a moment, immobile, each considering their options when someone interrupted their concentration,

"Ron! Harry! Stop it. Leave him alone," neither paid any attention and continued to point their wands at Malfoy dangerously.

"You don't want to get in trouble because of him do you?" she reasoned, shooting the head boy a dirty look.

"But Hermione..." whined Ron, itching to beat Malfoy to a pulp; however after a moments thought, both boys grudgingly lowered their wands (they refused to pocket them until they had left the company of Malfoy).

Draco merely stood in silence as the head girl convinced her friends that she would be fine, and exchanged goodbyes with them, she then headed up dejectedly to her room, completely ignoring him. He paused for a moment before following the girl up to her room; he did not bother knocking, instead walked in as if he owned the place. Granger was sitting on her bed reading 'Hogwarts a History,' and was completely oblivious to Malfoy's presence.

"Granger, it's not normal to spend so much of your life with your nose stuck in a book," muttered Draco, unable to think of anything better to say. Hermione jumped slightly, but then readjusted her startled expression into a scowl,

"What do you want Malfoy?" she thundered. The head girl was in no mood to argue, and wanted to re-immerse back into the pages of her book as soon as possible.

"Nothing in particular," he said blankly, enjoying the annoyed look on Hermione's face. "I just wanted to check if everything was back to normal and we could go back to hating each other."

The girl did not reply, instead she processed what he had said in her mind, she thought carefully, and just when he thought she wasn't going to reply she muttered,

"We could call a truce," her voice was doubtful and she expected Draco to refuse, or perhaps even laugh in her face. Unknown to Hermione, an inward battle was raging inside Draco, in the end however he decided life in general would be easier on his behalf, if they weren't constantly at each others throats. He extended his had and tried not to smirk at the girls surprised face. She looked at it questioningly until he gave a sigh and said,

"Granger, it's a hand," he looked pissed off, "you shake it, and call a truce between us."

"You agree?" She asked confused. Malfoy quirked a brow, and had to muster all the self-control he could to not shoot back a slick reply.

Hermione placed her smaller hand in his and they shook hands.

* * *

A week having passed since the head boy and girl called a truce, their relationship remained civil. That is, up until now. "Don't be ridiculous!" Hermione said, attempting, and failing not to raise her voice. 

"Stop being so stubborn." Malfoy returned.

The both glared at each other. Hermione and Draco had been pulled out of their last two classes of the day to organise the Christmas dance. At the rate they were going however, it seemed as though they wouldn't even be ready for the following Christmas. They were unable to see eye-to-eye on anything concerning the dance, or otherwise.

"Malfoy, we are NOT decorating the hall in green and silver."

"Why not?" asked the head boy innocently, not willing to give up on his side of the argument.

"Because they are the Slytherin colours!"

"Details, details..." he muttered, waving his hands in the air.

Hermione glowered at him before offering, "how about black and white?" Draco looked thoughtful for a moment. He considered refusing just to further annoy the Gryffindor girl, but decided against this when he saw the dangerous glint in her eye. He nodded his head slightly. Hermione gave a sigh of relief, happy they had finally agreed on _something_.

The evening passed in much the same way. Disagreements and compromise, it was only once the sun had gone down and the moon was shining brightly in the sky that the two students decided they had worked on the Christmas dance enough for one day, and sat in front of the fire in the common room in a comfortable silence.

Draco was silently thinking over the events of the last few weeks and something occurred to him, "Does Dumbledore know about your dreams?"

Hermione looked shocked, "No. No-one knows."

"I know."

"Thank you Draco, for stating the obvious." She sighed then corrected herself, "except for you no-one knows. And that's the way I want it to stay. People will think I'm crazy!"

"I feel this is a good opportunity for some serious blackmailing," Draco joked.

"Don't you dare Malfoy!" She muttered, unsure weather he was being serious or not, "Besides, you owe me!"

"Calm it... I was just joking." He said, "and why do I have a feeling you're going to remind me that you saved my life whenever possible?"

"Because I am." She grinned.

Hermione was still cautious when talking to Malfoy; she didn't know how to act around him. They had never got on in the past, and that was to put it mildly. Although they had called a truce, she still felt that the smallest thing would set him off and make him angry. Over the last week they only spoke when they had to, and when they did, his voice was neutral. But now, he seemed almost friendly; as if the past six years had never happened. Hermione considered that perhaps the Slytherin Prince had changed after having a brush with death, however she quickly discarded this thought. She just didn't know what to think.

"Have you had anymore?" Hermione looked up confused. "Dreams." He added.

"Oh." She mumbled, "no, and I'm hoping it stays that way."

Draco nodded. He decided he liked talking to Hermione. She still annoyed him sometimes, to be sure, and she seemed to have something against the colour green, (he smiled slightly at this thought). However, she had saved his life, and that was something he couldn't forget.

Draco Malfoy had never been short of friends. He was always surrounded by people who were trying to impress him, and trying to be friends with him, after all he was a Malfoy, and his wealth was no secret. Hermione was different, she just acted like herself. Not for the first time, Draco reflected that the girl just wasn't as bad as he previously thought.

He stifled a yawn, fighting sleep down to the last groggy second, but eventually his eyelids got heavy and he couldn't resist sleep any longer. He was tired, but equally stubborn and didn't want to admit defeat and go to sleep before a girl.

Draco woke with a start as a shark finger prodded him in the stomach; he jumped up and looked around wildly.

"You fell asleep," she stated.

"Oh."

"Maybe you should go to bed," the girl mumbled.

"I'm not tired!" He lied. She raised a brow, and stood up,

"Fine. Well I'm going to bed. Goodnight."

She turned and headed up to her room, as she was leaving she could have sworn she heard him reply, "Good night Hermione."

The Gryffindor head girl smiled and entered her room.

Draco watched her retreating back in silence, the sleep he had been so desperately fighting earlier, had suddenly gone, and now he was wide awake. He had surprised even himself by calling her by her first name. He had not intended to so. It just came out. Draco decided not to ponder this any further and instead stared deeply at the flames of the fire, he enjoyed the warm feeling against his skin.

Outside he showed little emotion, inside he was terrified. He knew that the Dark Lord would be furious that he hadn't been successfully killed. He feared for his own life. He also knew that if they found out that Hermione had been the one to help him escape his fate, she would be killed also. For some reason this thought made him feel even worse.

His father had made it clear to him over the summer that he was a disgrace. He had punished Draco for refusing to join Voldemort, cast endless curses on him, each one worst than the last, but Draco had refused to give in. When Voldemort found out Draco had refused to join him, he was livid, but by then Draco was on the train back to Hogwarts.

Draco was sure he would be safe here no matter what. The first month wasn't yet over and the head boy was already proved wrong.

He stayed up to the early hours in the morning, thinking of the events of the summer, and the indubitable trouble to come.

* * *

"_No... please..." stuttered the frightened girl. She cowered in front of the Dark Lord, he had his wand raised to her but he wasn't quite ready to kill her yet, he enjoyed torturing her too much. He seemed to get a sadistic satisfaction from seeing his victims squirm and plead pathetically for their lives. _

_He took a step closer to the girl, she whimpered and tears streamed silently down her cheeks. The girl repulsed Voldemort. He had no particular reason to kill her; he did so just because he could._

"_Crucio." He snarled, the girl screamed as the curse engulfed her, she shook violently and opened her mouth to cry but all that came out was a strangled choking sob._

_The Dark Lord laughed coldly and he slowly lowered his wand ending her torment. She lay at his feet shaking, small moans escaping her lips, a veil of blonde hair covered her face. Voldemort frowned loosing interest and kicked her with his boot. When she didn't respond he aimed his wand at her heart and shouted the words, "Avarda Kadavra." Green light shot from the end of his wand and hit his victim before she had the chance to protest. _

* * *

Back at Hogwarts, Hermione Granger woke with a start, she was shivering and every muscle in her body ached, as if she had been the one hit by the curse. 


	4. The Natural Order

**A/N: I would like to thank everyone who reviewed. I've had this chapter finished for a few days now but I have not been completely satisfied. I wasn't going to post it until I had a chance to basically re write it, but then I thought I may as well post what I've written and let you guys decide. **

**I was asked why Draco didn't become a death eater, as it would be natural for him, as his father is one, so I have written a small explanation in this chapter as to why he is against the idea. **

**Please review, and I know this chapter isn't very long so I promise to make the next one longer.**

**Also I have to thank Mystical Maniac who BETA read my fic and has been very nicely telling me which bits are rubbish (although sometimes she used, ummm, different wording) and which bits she likes and so on. Yeah so thank you oh great and wonderful person (she made me say that).**

**In the end of the fifth book it briefly mentioned something about Lucius Malfoy being imprisoned. Me and my friends are in debate about it so if anyone knows if he is meant to be, can you please tell me so i can explain why he isn't in prison in my story. Thank you.**

**Disclaimer: Still not mine (unless J.K. Rowling is willing to hand me the rights to Harry Potter, if so please contact me!... or hey maybe you can just give me the rights to Draco Malfoy (that would be REALLY appreciated)).**

**I will shut up now! Enjoy...**

* * *

Hermione Granger sat up in bed; silent tears flowing freely down her cheeks. The girl from her dream was so familiar but she couldn't work out who it was. The head girl shivered slightly and pulled the covers tighter around her; she wanted to hide in the depths of her bed until morning, however she knew she could not. She was seventeen years old, not to mention head girl, she had responsibilities to face up to. 

Hermione knew what she had to do, it took a moment to muster up the courage, and then, before she could change her mind, she jumped out of bed and pulled on her robes… she had to tell Dumbledore before it was too late.

She scooted out of the portrait and ran down to the Head Masters office, however, upon reaching it she heard voices outside, she quickly hid herself behind a statue as so not to be seen and listened in silent horror.

"Calm yourself Miss Bones," muttered McGonagall to the hysterical girl.

"But she's …g…gone!" Stuttered the Hufflepuff seventh year.

A third voice joined the conversation, "Minerva, the girl is right, she is no longer in Hogwarts."

Hermione recognised the crying girl as Susan Bones, she was a member of the Hufflepuff house, and she shared a couple of classes with Hermione. The head girl bit her lip, not knowing what to do; she presumed that the missing girl was the one from her dream. Much to Hermione's surprise and annoyance, this caused a fresh set of tears to spill out of her already red eyes.

"They… t…took her!" wailed Susan, unable to calm herself.

"Professor McGonagall will escort you to the hospital wing where Madame Pomfrey will give you something to help calm you down." Dumbledore said in a sad tone, the sparkle in his eyes had gone and he looked old and tired.

McGonagall nodded briskly and walked the crying girl in the direction of the infirmary. Once they had gone, Dumbledore stood still for a second before muttering,

"You have something to tell me Miss Granger?" Hermione jumped, and then took a step forward, presenting herself in front of the headmaster; she was not overly surprised that he knew she was there.

He nodded curtly and signalled for her to follow him into his office; Dumbledore muttered the password and only too soon the head girl found herself seated in a comfortable chair in front of a large desk covered with books and scrolls of parchment.

Dumbledore sat himself neatly in the chair behind his desk and looked down at the girl with sad eyes. He said nothing. Hermione wasn't sure where to begin, or how much he already knew, but much to her relief he stood up and started gently pacing, before opening his mouth to speak.

"These are dark times," he paused for a moment, as if unsure of how to continue, before carefully saying, "as the Dark Lord gains power, there will no doubt be many deaths, innocent people _will_ die." He looked at her desolately, "regretfully most of the time, we cannot stand in the way of these deaths, sometimes however we can."

He sat back down again, and looked at Hermione, who had finally found her voice,

"I've been having dreams, and they have been coming true. Then I dreamt Draco Malfoy was going to die…." She trailed off, expecting Dumbledore to laugh, or in the least think she was crazy, but instead he said in a poignant voice,

"You intervened." Hermione nodded surprised and he continued, "I don't doubt that you know already that they are not just 'dreams' but more like premonitions." The girl nodded again, she should have known Dumbledore already knew about them.

"Hannah Abbot!" She cried jumping up, finally remembering the girl from her dream, the previous conversation she had overheard came rushing back to her. For a moment the head girl felt as if a cold hand had grabbed onto her heart. "She's gone."

Hermione knew from the look in Dumbledore's eyes that she was right. The blonde girl was already missing and if her dream was right, she was probably already dead. More tears filled up her eyes and spilled over her cheeks.

You must understand," began the head master passing her a tissue, "that in the balance of the world, someone was meant to die, and that someone was meant to be Draco Malfoy. You changed that. The world had to find a replacement to restore the natural order." He paused for a moment, waiting for what he said to sink in.

"Hannah?" She asked alarmed. He nodded gravely. "So it's my fault she died?" Wailed Hermione, overcome by guilt.

"No, and you must never think that," Hermione ignored this and instead started crying harder.

"I wish I never got involved!" she moaned, wiping the tears from her face, only to have more stream down her cheeks anyway.

The head master hesitated for a moment, and then took something out of his pocket causing Hermione's tears to subsided almost immediately. He was holding a time turner.

"If you are sure that is what you want, it may happen. You have a choice," he said seriously, "you can go back in time, and prevent yourself from saving Draco, and letting fate do it's work, or you can leave things as they are." Hermione looked like she was going to be sick, she couldn't possibly decide something like that.

"But either way one of them will die!" She shouted.

"You are a smart girl," he said sadly, "you will know what to do," and with that Dumbledore handed her the time turner.

* * *

Draco Malfoy sat in the common room thinking, it was Saturday, and he hadn't yet mustered the courage to leave the comfort of the settee to go have breakfast, so instead he sat in silence, thinking. 

He wondered not for the first time why he didn't just give in and become a death eater over the summer. But that thought sickened him, he didn't want to spend his life as a servant to a power crazed man. He had seen death eaters die at the hand of their own master, even worse he had seen innocent men and women alike be tortured and murdered for nothing more than the satisfaction of the dark lord and his followers. Draco had promised himself from a young age that his life would amount to more. He would serve no one. Draco had never pretended to have the biggest heart, or be the nicest person, but one thing he could never do, was kill an innocent.

He sighed unhappily. The Dark Lord never gives up, if he wants someone dead, they will be, and Draco knew they would be back for him sooner or later.

He looked up as Hermione walked through the portrait in tears, without pausing she ran up to her room and slammed the door behind her. The blonde boy was overcome by curiosity as to what could have upset her so much. He stood up edging towards her room, however he changed his mind deciding she would prefer to be alone, and instead went down to breakfast.

Hermione lay on her bed sobbing uncontrollably. No one has the right to kill another human being, yet in a sense, she felt that was what was being asked of her. One life for another. Hannah or Draco.

She didn't know either of them well, infact she barely knew them at all, she had a few classes with Hannah, and years of arguments with Draco, but that was not enough to decide which should die. Hermione for the first time in her life detested Dumbledore. How could he make her decide something like this? She banged her fist into her pillow angrily.

She should have known. She read in the book that there were 'consequences' you had to face when messing with fate. She should have paid attention to what was right in front of her.

Part of her reasoned that she should go back and stop herself from intervening, she could let fate do it's work, after all, it was Draco's destiny to die. However, as always, the other half of her was in strong disagreement. What was done was done. It would be unfair to Draco to go back now, and let him die.

She fingered the time turner gently, unable to decide what to do.

* * *

"Dumbledore do you know how much trouble you can get in for this!" Professor McGonagall almost screamed, "You can't just give students time turners to go change people's lives as they wish. How do you know Hannah Abbot is even dead?" 

"That, I am sure of." The head master said sadly, "her body was found," McGonagall took a sharp intake of breath, she looked as if she was about to cry, but somehow managed to keep her composure none the less.

"You must get that time turner back." She said quietly, "the poor girl must be going crazy with worry deciding what to do, and if she does decide to use it, anything could go wrong!" The previous anger in her voice had gone, now only sadness remained.

Dumbledore shook his head. "Professor, this is a school, what I am giving Hermione is just a different form of lesson, not everything can be learnt from books." McGonagall looked doubtful so he added gently, "She is a smart girl, she knows what she is doing."

"I hope, for your sake as much as Hermione's that you're right," she sighed, "I never did really understand these crazy idea's of yours. Dumbledore's eyes seemed to twinkled for the briefest of seconds, but almost immediately, they were replaced by sorrowful ones which darkened his features, he sighed before saying,

"We will have to inform the Abbot's about their daughter," This time, there was no doubt that a tear slid from the corner of McGonagall's eye.

"They are on their way here already," she sighed wiping the tear away, "Mrs Abbot is very distressed, she can tell something is wrong. Dumbledore how could this happen?"

"This could only mean one thing Minerva, the Dark Lord has come to power," muttered Dumbledore gravely.

* * *

It had not taken long for the news of Hannah's disappearance to get around the school. In a few hours, it was all anyone was talking about. There was wide confusion as to where she was, and the Slytherins did not fail to notice the uneasy glances the rest of the school were shooting them. 

"Me mam told me to watch out at school, Death eaters have been extremely active lately," Seamus muttered under his breath to his Gryffindor friends.

Ron nodded and said through a mouthful of chicken, "If you ask me this has definitely got something to do with Malfoy!"

Neville who was listening in silence up till now whimpered slightly.

"Poor Hannah, I wonder what he's done to her," whispered Harry, and with this they all turned to look at the Slytherin table for the blonde boy they were so sure was guilty of her disappearance.

Draco Malfoy however sat in the library reading, he was sick of the glares the Hufflepuff's were giving him, for some reason, they were all convinced he had something to do with the girls disappearance.

Eventually however he got bored of his book and found his feet leading him back to the common room. When he walked in Hermione was sitting on the floor in front of the fire. She had something in her hand, but she stuffed it into her pocket as soon as she realised Draco was in the room. She looked up guiltily and Draco noticed her eyes were red from crying.

"Are you okay?" he asked, casually sitting down beside her.

"Yes. I'm fine. Why wouldn't I be?" she answered a little too quickly, and her voice was slightly higher than necessary. The blonde boy raised a brow and said calmly,

"Oh, ok, it's just that people don't usually cry when they're fine," then he added, "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to."

Hermione for reasons she did not understand wanted to tell Draco everything, but she managed to hold her tongue and just shake her head. The head boy nodded and they sat in a comfortable silence, Draco reading a book and Hermione gazing into the fire, deciding what to do.

The silence however did not last long, eventually, she could hold her tongue no longer and blurted out, "Dumbledore gave me a time turner." Malfoy nodded, regarding her calmly, and listened while she explained to him, all that Dumbledore had explained to her.

She seemed hesitant at first, however with a little probing on his behalf, Malfoy managed to get it out of her, "so you can go back in time and stop yourself getting involved to save Hannah's life?" Hermione nodded, biting her lip gently and holding back tears.

Draco was overcome with an emotion quite new to him. Guilt. Hermione was so upset all because of him. Even worse, the Hufflepuff girl was _dead_ instead of him. He couldn't believe Hermione was even considering letting him live. Before he could stop himself he blurted,

"You should do it." He tried to keep his voice steady. Hermione was gaping like a fish, apparently that was not the answer she expected, "Seriously," he continued, "What have I ever done that is worthy of you saving me? Think about it, this will be the first decent thing I've done in my life." Hermione could not believe this was coming from the mouth of the 'Slytherin prince'; she did not know it but much the same thoughts were going through _his_ mind too. He couldn't believe that he had just said that, however deep down he knew it was true.

She shook her head grimly, and determined not to cry said gently, "I have to make this choice on my own. I'm sorry."

Draco nodded and stood up. He walked to the bathroom with his back straight and his head held high, he calmly closed the door behind him leaving the girl to think alone. He turned the tap letting the cold water pour onto his shaking hands, he splashed some on his face, and tried to calm himself down. He may have sounded brave to Hermione, but he thought he was very foolish.

Yet despite how scared for his life he was, he could not get rid of the guilt that had grabbed hold of his stomach. It took him all his years of training to keep the outer composure he was always seen to have.

One thing was for sure, he didn't want to die.

* * *

Hermione looked up at her ceiling. She held the time turner loosely in her hand. Not for the first time she waswondering why Dumbledore had given it to her, and not for the first time, she could come up with no logical answer; so instead her thoughts turned to Draco. 

She could tell he was being sincere when he told her that she should go back and stop herself getting involved in this mess, but she could also tell how scared he was. He masked his emotions well, perhaps too well, but his eyes were like a window into his inner most feelings, and in them, she saw guilt and fear. Though she knew he would never admit it, Draco Malfoy had changed.

She stood up abruptly; she knew what she had to do.

* * *

The next morning Dumbledore found the time turner on his desk. Unused. He smiled gently and pocketed it. 


	5. Coping with death

**A/N: I would like to thank the following people for reviewing: wingless87, Jen, lutefa, Lil' Bode, CrazyInsanity, factorygirl, arienachi, lizzie15, gyrlfrend, Mariana, and Natasha2014.**

**I was asked if this is going to be a Draco/Hermione fic and the answer to that is yes. The romance will come soon but I didn't want to rush it and make it unbelievable. **

**Also in answer to CrazyInsanity s question, I do not think it had been mentioned in Harry Potter whether the head boy and girl actually share a common room; however I may be wrong. **

**All reviews are appreciated (hint).**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter… bla bla bla… now on with the fic.**

* * *

Mrs Abbott pressed her head into her husband's shoulder, the uncontrollable flow of tears soaking his robes. He opened his mouth attempting to whisper soothing words, but none could come out. They both loved their daughter very much, and even a fool could see that their hearts were breaking at the news of her death. 

Dumbledore looked at them sadly and McGonagall wiped a stray tear from her cheek. The Abbott's had taken the news as any loving parents would. Professor McGonagall opened her mouth to speak to the couple, but the head master shook his head, signalling for her to give them a while longer.

"How could you let this happen?" David Abbott shouted bitterly, breaking the silence and startling his wife.

"The Dark Lord…" Dumbledore began in a sad voice, but he was cut off.

"Don't give me that crap! This is a school. We entrusted you to keep her safe." He banged his hand angrily on the head masters desk.

"David…" his wife mumbled through tears.

"No darling, this has to be said," he shook his head and took her hand before continuing, "I used to respect you, but what sort of head master let's his students get…." He couldn't say it. If he said the word then she would never come back. He wasn't ready to accept that yet.

"Killed." Finished his wife.

"DON'T SAY IT!" Mr Abbott jumped up causing his wife to cry harder. He was immediately sorry for raising his voice to her, and pulled her into a tight hug. "Do not think this is the end of it," he spat, glaring at the head master and McGonagall in turn, before guiding his wife out of the office.

Neither of the teachers spoke for a while, however eventually the witch said sadly, "they will cause trouble for Hogwarts."

The head master nodded gravely, "It is understandable. They loved her very much, and are un-blamably angry; they will make a formal complaint and do everything within their power to seek vengeance for their only child." He sighed, "Everyone copes with death in their own way."

* * *

As Hogwarts School ate breakfast, a various number of rumours were going around to account for Hannah's mysterious disappearance. A fair few were closer to the truth than Hermione was comfortable with, however most were ludicrous. 

"I'm telling you it's true!" Cried Ron, wildly waving his fork around in the air, "she left Hogwarts to join you-know-who."

"Don't be ridiculous Ron," said Harry, finally joining into the conversation, "and anyway, yesterday you were sure Malfoy killed her."

"That happened too!" Ron nodded vigorously to show he was telling the truth. He still wasn't sure how his two theories joined together, but he was convinced they were accurate all the same.

"Well, if you ask me, I think this is just some stunt she pulled to get attention," whispered Parvati, so as not to be heard by the Hufflepuff's.

"What do you think Hermione? Dumbledore must have said something to you? I mean she had been missing for four days now," asked Ron before taking a large bite out of his chocolate muffin. Much to the Head girls annoyance, they all turned to face her, listening in silence. She opened her mouth slightly and shut it again just as fast. The Gryffindors waited patiently.

Much to Hermione's relief, Dumbledore stood up and hit his fork on the side of his goblet, signalling for silence, grudgingly, the Gryffindors turned their attention from Hermione and sat in silence waiting for the head master to speak.

He clapped his hands twice, and the hangings above each of the tables, turned an ominous black colour. He bowed hid head before starting to speak; a few of the more intelligent pupils had already speculated what was coming next.

"Miss Abbott of Hufflepuff house, as I am sure you know has been missing, and it is my misfortune to inform you all that she was murdered a …" he was cut off by the gasps which sounded around the hall. "I would like to hold a minute silence for her," he once again bowed his head and immediately the whole school fell silent, even the Slytherins managed to hold their tongues, after all most of them did not even recognise who the girl was and could not be bothered to make any comment that would undoubtedly lead only to trouble.

The rest of breakfast was eaten mainly in a sorrowful silence, halfway through Hermione excused herself from the table deciding to go find refuge in the library until lessons started, she was still over come by guilt. However, she knew there was a reason why the head master had given her the chance to go back and change time. He did so, because he knew she wouldn't. She was a smart girl and she had figured it out eventually. She felt as though she needed to talk to Dumbledore about it, and intended to do so at dinnertime. Whilst she was thinking over the events since the start of school, she did not hear the blonde boy come up behind her and slip a note into her pocket, before leaving once again, a small smile on his face.

Infact she was so wrapped up in her own thoughts, she completely forgot about her lesson until it had already begun, causing her to be five minutes late for care of Magical creatures. Hagrid didn't seem to mind. He was busily talking about the creatures they would be studying over the year. Then, he pulled out a small box from behind him no one had paid any particular attention to up till now. The Slytherins and a few Gryffindors took a step back, not knowing what to expect in Hagrid's class. He opened the lid proudly presenting the class with their topic for the day. The girls all looked at it with big eyes,

"It's so cute!" squealed Lavender.

"I want one," added Parvati looking lovingly at the creature in Hagrid's hands. It looked somewhat like a small puppy, only with some mild differences, for one it had small wings coming out of it's back, and secondly…

"It's pink." Stated Ron, not bothering to hide his disgust. The rest of the boys all nodded.

* * *

"Miss Granger, I was expecting you," Dumbledore muttered as the door to his office opened. He looked up from the parchment he was writing on and smiled sadly and the bushy haired girl. "Please, take a seat," he said, gesturing to the chair opposite him. 

"I know why you gave me the time turner," she sighed, and sat in the large cushioned chair in front of the head masters desk. He nodded, and then motioned for her to continue, "you wanted to show me that I did the right thing by saving Draco."

Dumbledore smiled, "I knew you were a smart girl." Then as an after thought enquired, "is that all you learnt?"

She shook her head; "If I let Draco die, that would have been wrong, but there was nothing I could have done to save Hannah," her features darkened, "all anyone can do for Hannah now is get revenge on the people which did this to her."

Dumbledore nodded, but before he could say anything Hermione asked, "Is there anything I could do to stop myself from having these… premonitions?"

The head master shook his head sadly, "I know it must be hard for you, but even if there was a way to stop you from having them, I would advise against it, it is a very rare gift. Do not fear, you will grow accustomed to them, and soon you will be able to control them."

Hermione opened her mouth to complain, however was cut of by distant shouting outside Dumbledore's office.

"You can't just barge in there!" Dumbledore looked up to see where the commotion was coming from, as he did so the door to his office was flung open, Lucius Malfoy strolled in as if he owned the place, closely followed by Cornelius fudge and McGonagall who was fuming.

"Can you please try to control this infernal woman?" The older Malfoy asked airily, and then glared at McGonagall. When he saw Hermione sitting in front of the head masters desk he sneered, "Run along child," The head girl looked up at Dumbledore who nodded, mumbling goodbye she walked out and closed the door behind her. She could not find it in her to leave straight away however and gently pressed her ear against the door, curious as to what was going on.

"I did try to stop them from barging in," muttered McGonagall before turning to glower at the two men in turn.

Lucius was unfazed by this, however Fudge coughed into his hand uncomfortably, "It's quite all right Minerva," assured the head master, then he turned to face the two ministry officials, "is there something you wanted?"

"I'm sorry Dumbledore, but this is just not acceptable, children going missing and turning up dead. This just won't do," Fudge shook his head for emphasis, "Mr and Mrs Abbott have made a formal complaint and it is my duty to ensure the school is a safe environment, after all we are dealing with children here. It's out of my hands, the school board of governors have decided it would be better for everyone if you stepped down from your position as head master, and frankly I agree this would be best for all." Cornelius fudge let out a small sigh and looked down at his shoes, avoiding McGonagall's enraged expression, the head master on the other hand seemed to be perfectly calm. Lucius Malfoy took a step forward dangerously,

"Well Dumbledore, I think it's about time you and your meddling ways were removed from this school. For the pupils safety of course."

"You can't just come in here and unannounced and start interfering!" McGonagall shouted, determined not to let Dumbledore go without a fight. "Where were you when they killed her? Where were you on numerous occasions when the Dark Lord tried to kill Harry? If it wasn't for Dumbledore…" However much to her infuriation, Lucius cut her off,

"Will someone please shut her up before I put her in a full body bind and lock her in a cupboard," he asked as if she were not in the room.

Dumbledore ignored the older Malfoy and turned to Fudge, "I will of course do as you wish."

"I'm sorry Dumbledore but I just want to make it clear, that you will never return to Hogwarts again," added Fudge.

"Of course, as you wish, infact you have my word that I will not return until you personally beg for me to do so," he smiled.

Lucius snarled, "That is not going to happen a…" However he got no further as Dumbledore had disappeared. "Where has the old fool gone now?" he asked enraged.

"He's gone, as he was told. Make no mistake, if he does not return soon, the school will be in greater danger than ever before, and I will hold you personally responsible!" replied McGonagall dangerously, glaring at the two men and hoping for the pupils sake that Dumbledore, wherever he had gone, would be returning soon.

* * *

Draco strolled out of the great hall, stomach content with a diner of roast chicken and potatoes. He stopped dead in his tracks however when he saw his father sneering down at him, before he could say anything he was dragged by the scruff of his collar down a deserted corridor, where he was fiercely flung to the floor. He immediately picked himself up, keeping his expression cold. 

Lucius had a malicious glint in his eye, "you have shamed me Draco, I am disgusted to have you as my son, aren't you ashamed of yourself?" He asked coldly, regarding his son with only hatred in his expression.

"You've told me this a hundred times Lucius, couldn't you come up with something more original?" Asked Draco rolling his eyes, in attempt to mask the fear he felt. Lucius lifted his hand and struck his son across the face, the head boy did not flinch, instead lifted a pale hand to touch his cheek. He knew straight away it would bruise.

Lucius Malfoy leaned in closer, "I could kill you right here and now if I wanted to, and don't think other wise," he growled, "what? You think that old fool Dumbledore can do anything to stop me?" Lucius chuckled dryly, "Well he's long gone."

He pulled out his wand and muttered, "Crucio," Draco fell to his knees, moaning quietly, "I _could_ kill you now… but what's the fun in that?" He snarled, not releasing his son from the curse until he had said all he had to, "first I'm going to take away everything you have, kill everyone you love, until on the inside you are nothing more than a burnt out fire. Then, I will torture you to such extremities, you will be begging me to kill you and let your torment be over." He snarled, "Do you really think you can refuse the Dark Lord and get away with it, you are a disgrace Draco, you are no son of mine," he lowered his wand, releasing him from the curse. He spat on the blonde boy, who was curled up on the floor, then walked away without looking back.

Draco felt as if he couldn't breathe. It was as if his body was on fire and his head was about to explode; he tried to stand but fell to the floor again. Had he not been so used to his father performing such curses on him, his condition would have been far worse. He sat leaning against the wall, not moving until he could muster enough strength to stumble to the common room and collapse on the sofa. Most people were at diner and Hermione was nowhere to be seen, and for this he was thankful, he would not have been able to face anyone in his current state.

The moment he lay on the sofa, it felt as though a thousand needles had been pushed into his back and he grimaced in pain. His last thoughts before he passed out were of hatred and anger.

* * *

Hermione stood in front of the notice board, busily pinning up a notice, she shoved her hand in her pocket to find a pin, when he fingers brushed against a folded up piece of parchment. She carefully pulled it out and unfolded it, and on it was written, in a neat slanted font, two words; "thank you." She smiled guessing who it was from immediately. 

The blonde boy never failed to surprise her, and these two words reassured her that she had made the right decision in not using the time turner. She pressed the last pin into the notice and walked up to the common room to inform Draco of her new plan.

She climbed through the portrait, worrying about what would happen to the school without the head master; Hogwarts School without Dumbledore would be like an open door to the Dark Lord. Her thoughts were distracted when she noticed Draco stretched out on the sofa, fast asleep. She smiled and walked closer to wake him when she noticed the bruise on his face and cut on the base of his neck. She shook him gently, "Draco," he did not respond. Hermione started to panic; she checked his breathing to find it was irregular. "Draco!" she said with more force this time. He opened his eyes and Hermione gave a sigh of relief.

He sat up abruptly only to find his head couldn't take it yet and sank back onto a cushion, hoping the splitting headache he had just obtained would go away.

"What happened?" She asked horrified, when he did not answer, she lifted her wand and healed the cut on his neck.

"Lucius." He muttered.

She gasped, "You have to tell Dumbld…" then she remembered the conversation she had previously over heard and her plan, "He's gone."

"I know." Draco muttered dolefully, leaning further into the sofa.

"I've called a meeting with the prefects in an hour. I put a notice up. We have to do something." Draco did not respond, "Will you be okay to come?" she asked worried about his present state, the head boy nodded gently. He looked paler than ever before and Hermione was sure Lucius had used a curse on him. She opened her mouth to ask, however her words would have been wasted, as Draco was once again unconscious, sleeping off the pain and after effects of whatever curse had been used on him.

* * *

The moment Hermione and Draco walked into the abandoned classroom were the meeting was scheduled; they were bombarded with queries and questions from the prefects. Hermione looked over at Draco who looked as though he were going to collapse any minute; she had considered not waking him for the meeting, but she had decided he would have preferred to come. After a moment, the prefects sat down and looked impatiently at the head boy and girl. 

"What's going on?" squeaked a Hufflepuff girl.

Hermione bit her lower lip, unsure of how much to tell them, eventually she conceded that it would be best to keep the facts short and not go into to much detail where it was not required. "Dumbledore has gone, Fudge has got rid of him because of Hannah's death," the prefects started to complain and shout in outrage.

"Shut up!" Hissed Malfoy, and they all immediately obliged, Hermione smiled at him before continuing.

"I over heard this happen," the head girl blushed slightly at having to admit she had eavesdropped, but the others seemed unfazed by it, therefore she continued, "now that Dumbledore has gone, Hogwarts is in more danger than ever before."

"Is it true that the Dark Lord is back to full power?" mumbled a Ravenclaw prefect.

"Of course it's true. Who do you think killed Hannah? Idiot. I bet this was all part of his plan, they'll be killings at Hogwarts everyday now," replied a bossy fifth year girl, a few other prefects joined the conversation and before long they were all once again shouting their opinions at each other, making more noise than Draco thought his head could handle at this precise moment.

Hermione banged her hand onto a table, causing the others to quieten down, "We need to cooperate," she urged, "do you really think arguing will help?" Draco took a step forward,

"We are not asking for much, just for you to try and keep the school in order as much as possible, all students must be in their common rooms by nine every night and there will be head counts after diner, everyday," he glared at a girl who had been waving her hand in the air, the whole time he was talking, trying to get his attention, "Yes?" he asked impatiently,

"When's Dumbledore coming back?"

"We don't know," mumbled Hermione, not wanting to admit her fears that he would not be coming back for a while yet.

* * *

"Blasted amateur prefects!" mumbled Draco rubbing his head; the effects of the curse had lasted longer than usual and the constant bickering of the prefects had not helped it in the slightest. The head boy carefully lay back onto his bed, thinking about life in general. When he was younger, he had every aspect of his life planned, down to the second he died. Now he was older, and perhaps a little wiser, he realised life was not something one can plan, merely something that happens. He used to believe fate and destiny were words, which should be bound to the fictional world of stories, words which in the real world, amount to nothing. Now however, he was not so sure. 

These thoughts were forgotten however when he heard a distant cry, he sat up silently, straining his ears to hear what had happened; however all was silent. As he lay back down again a frightened scream came from Hermione's room, he jumped out of bed, pausing for a brief second, before running to see what was wrong.

The girl seemed to be having some kind of nightmare; she lay in bed, arms thrashing around madly, small moans escaping her lips. Draco stood over her unsure what to do, she screamed again and the boy wished there was something he could do. He tried waking her but to no avail. Then he reached over and stroked her forehead gently, as his mother had done to him when he was a child, until eventually she sat up bolt right, Draco held her shoulders, whilst she sobbed uncontrollably, eventually he muttered,

"Don't worry, I've got you," she leaned her head on his shoulder until she could control her tears.

She had had another premonition, it was Lucius, he was torturing a woman Hermione recognised as his wife. The girl had been watching the scene unfold from afar, however when he cast the curse on Narcissa, Hermione had felt it too. It felt as though her flesh was on fire; she opened her mouth to tell Draco, but was unable to come out with any words, so instead remained silent.

"Are you okay now?" Draco asked, feeling slightly awkward, he got up slowly ready to go back to his room. Hermione grabbed onto his arm.

"Please, don't leave me," He didn't know what to do; she was obviously scared.

Please," she said again her eyes wide and frightened. He nodded slowly and crossed the room to get the chair from her desk. Hermione smiled then frowned.

"Are you sure you'll be okay there?" Malfoy nodded, smile lifting the corners of his lips.

"I'll be fine, just get to sleep, I promise to wake you if you have another dream." Hermione nodded then reluctantly lay back onto her pillows, holding onto the boy's hand for comfort. Draco tried to get comfortable in the hard backed chair and watched as Hermione drifted slowly into the realm of sleep. It did not take long for him to follow his shoulders slumping.

* * *

**A/N: More in next chapter about Dumbledore being made to leave and Draco's mum, also I will start working on the romance more (I promise!). Please review. **


	6. Bitter thoughts

**A/N: Hello people. I would like to thank omnipotent otaku, Mariana and Natasha2014 for reviewing.**

**I know this chapter is quite short but I was having serious writer's block. I hope you enjoy it anyway.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter (duh!). **

* * *

When Hermione awoke the next morning, she was surprised to find Draco Malfoy slumped over the bed, and silently sleeping on her stomach. The head girl smiled as it dawned on her that he had stayed with her all night. She carefully moved a strand of his blonde hair away from his eyes, letting it frame his face as it fell gently to the side. He looked so peaceful. 

The blonde boy stirred, snuggling deeper into Hermione's stomach, making her giggle. "Draco," she whispered prodding him gently, "Draco." He opened his eyes, and upon realising he was in Hermione's room, almost fell off his chair. Eventually recollections of the previous night came back to him, and he gave a sigh of relief, leaning back onto the chair.

"Thank you for last night," the girl smiled "It was, well... thanks." Draco shrugged in reply, and then smiled back.

"Did you have a… was it…a premonition?" he asked, curious as to what she had seen in her dream which had frightened her so much. Before the girl could answer there was a loud tapping noise on the window. She was thankful for the intervention; she knew she wouldn't be able to put off telling him about his mother forever, she just couldn't yet. But, apparently the choice was not hers to make, as a large owl flew in from the window and perched itself on Draco's shoulder. It dropped a black envelope on the boy's lap, and swooped out the window again, back to wherever it came from.

Ignoring the ominous feeling which had settled in his stomach, Draco lifted the envelope carefully, it was damp, and as he made to open it, Draco noticed his fingers were stained with a red substance. He dropped the envelope onto the bed. Hermione gasped in horror, as she noticed the red stain, which was steadily expanding around the envelope, streaking her bed cover, recognising the substance, she jumped out of bed horrified. The red glow could not be mistaken for anything but what it was. Blood.

The boy had acknowledged the owl to be his father's, and that's all he needed, to know that nothing good could come from opening the envelope; none the less, unable to fight curiosity, he once again lifted the black envelope, and opened it, with a trembling hand. He reached inside the packet, and retrieved a blood soaked ring. After wiping the blood from it onto his robes, he immediately recognised it, to be his mother's wedding ring. He remembered his father's words _'I'm going to take away everything you have, kill everyone you love.'_

"She's dead," Draco mumbled, Hermione stepped closer to him, putting a comforting hand on his arm. "SHE NEVER DID ANYTHING TO HIM!" He banged his fist on the wall, unable to control his anger, and scaring Hermione. "She was a good person," he whispered, falling to his knees, "you dreamt it didn't you?" he asked looking at her accusingly. Hermione nodded sadly. "She was a good person," he repeated again, in a barley audible whisper.

"I'm so sorry," the head girl mumbled.

* * *

All Hermione wanted to do was comfort Draco, however he had insisted that he be alone, and this is how the head girl found herself sat in the library, her two friends opposite her, talking in hushed voices, and every now and then, taking notes from a book for their homework. "But that's exactly what Voldemort wants!" Muttered Harry annoyed, when Hermione revealed to them that the head master was gone. 

"This is all down to Lucius," added Ron, "that whole family is rotten to the core!"

"That's not true!" argued Hermione without hesitation.

"Not true?" mimicked Ron, "are you crazy?!"

"Draco has really changed this year," she insisted.

"Draco? Since when do you call him Draco?" Joined in Harry, further annoying Hermione.

"Oh seriously, grow up you two," the head girl glared at the two boys before bending back over her parchment, scribbling down notes furiously, hoping the boys would drop the subject of Draco.

Eventually Harry said in a quiet voice "My scar's been hurting more and more lately, and that's never a good sign," Ron looked terrified but Hermione, who was still thinking about the head boy, made no gesture to prove she had even heard what Harry had said.

"Dumbledore will be back," the ginger boy insisted, trying to sound confident, but failing.

The girl, who was now oblivious to her two friends, was deep in thought; she was not quite sure why she could not get the blonde boy out of her head, but she eventually decided it was because, had it been her mother who had been murdered, she would have taken it very badly. Just the thought of it made her skin crawl and her stomach tighten. She hated to think what Draco must have been going through, a sudden rush of sympathy towards the Slytherin boy took her by surprise.

"Hermione!" Asked Ron attempting to get her attention for the fourth time and getting a glare from the librarian for raising his voice in the process.

"What?" She asked trying not to sound guilty.

"You seem very distracted, what's wrong? You can tell us," Harry asked gently and Ron nodded. They were her best friends and Hermione felt bad for not telling them about her premonitions; it just never seemed to be the right time, now being a fine example. She had to go see if Draco was okay.

"Nothing," she lied, "I just have to go see McGonagall about a piece of ...er...homework." She stood up, shoving her books in her bag, grateful that the boys seemed to have accepted her lie with no questions. As she was leaving Ron called after her,

"It's not healthy to work so hard you know!" She turned around and grinned before waving goodbye one last time and walking out of the library door. Once she was out of view, both boys' smiles instantly disappeared,

"I don't believe her for a second," muttered Harry darkly.

"Something is definitely up with her," added Ron, shaking his head.

The head girl, oblivious to her friend's suspicions, almost ran back to the common room, and jumped through the portrait expecting to find Draco sitting in front of the fire where he had been when she left; however the common room was empty. Deciding he must be in his room, Hermione climbed up the staircase and knocked on his door. There was no reply however, as he was not in there.

* * *

"I have a job for you," snarled Lucius Malfoy at the boy in front of him. The boy nodded eager to please the older death eater; he had only recently joined the ranks of the Dark Lord himself, and was keen to show them how trustworthy he was. 

"Yes sir?" he asked.

"My son, though I am ashamed to admit it, Draco Malfoy had disgraced me. He will suffer for turning his back on the Dark Lord and his family. You are to find out who he is close to, understand?" The boy nodded and Lucius continued, "His friends, who he cares for, any girlfriends. Make sure you are not seen and report any information back to me." He demanded, looking down his nose at the younger boy.

"Leave. NOW!" Shouted Lucius, scaring the boy. The teenager nodded, attempting to mask his fear, and fled the room without a backwards glance, to do as the blonde man had ordered.

The older Malfoy was left in the room alone. He looked at the gold wedding band on his finger smirking; he eased it off his finger gently and threw it into the flames of the fire, is thoughts with his dead wife. He had finally found a use for the woman, cold laughter filled the room and he pictured Draco's face opening the envelope. He had every intention of following through with his threats, by the time he was finished with Draco, he would be begging for his own death.

* * *

Draco Malfoy sat by the lake; the pregnant clouds were spilling their water to the ground soaking the Slytherin head boy. The sun had set and large clouds obstructed the light from the moon, making the darkness almost suffocating. He had lost count of the hours he had been sitting here, all he knew was what he felt, and what he felt was anger and immense sadness. 

He clutched onto his mother's ring, the blood had been washed away by the rain. It was engraved, and although it was too dark to see the words printed on the ring now, Draco knew them from memory, 'nostrum diligo mos permaneo intemporaliter'. It meant 'our love will last eternally'. The ring had been past down through the Malfoy family, given in turn to each new bride. Draco wondered if Lucius had ever loved her.

Draco retreated further inside himself, locking himself inside his head, away from the harsh reality of the world. Every one needs someone, but Draco felt he had no one. His heart still burned with anger for his mother, and his soul cried in fear of the troubles still to come. Lucius would not stop until he had reduced Draco to nothingness within. The boy was not sure which of these he hated more, knowing Lucius had killed his mother, or knowing the worse was still to come.

His heart raced as lightening illuminated the castle, and thunder shook the grounds. The numbness settled in shortly, and so did the feeling of loneliness, like a dark endless pit in his stomach. Draco Malfoy felt alone. He did not know a girl with large brown eyes was staring out the window, into the never ending darkness, biting her lower lip and wondering where he could be.

The boy looked up at the sky, feeling the rain falling onto his face, each cold drop sending shivers down his spine. Bitter thoughts ran through his mind, he quickly wiped the tears away, refusing to give Lucius the satisfaction. The rain soaked through his robes down to his skin. In a strange way it comforted him, the steady sound of falling rain soothed his angry soul.

Draco felt he could sit there forever, letting the cold penetrate his skin, the rain soak through him, and the darkness envelope him. But forever is such a long time.


	7. Everyone needs someone

**A/N: Hey everyone. Okay firstly I would like to thank everyone who read my story and a special thanks to those who have reviewed: Natasha2014, w1cked angel, Mariana, omnipotent otaku and also a thank you to Lil' Bode who emailed me her review.**

**This chapter was difficult for me to write because I had a plan for the beginning of my fic, and I have a plan for the end chapters however I have no specific plan for the middle ones; however slowly but surely I'm getting there. Also the romance is coming… I just don't want to rush it… I mean they have been enemies for years; they are not just going to fall in love out of the blue are they? (Well okay they could… but not in this fic).**

**This chapter is a bit boring in my opinion but it was needed to move along the story line. I hope you enjoy it anyways, and I promise to have the next chapter up soon. Please review, and thank you to anyone who reads my fic.**

**Disclaimer: I'm sure this will come as a great shock to you so brace yourselves… I… do NOT own Harry Potter. **

* * *

Hogwarts School was in pandemonium without Dumbledore. It had not taken long for the news of his leave to get about. The Slytherins walked around like they owned the place and the rest of the school constantly had their wands poised in one hand, ready to defend themselves. Then of course there was Neville, who refused to leave the boy's dormitories.

The teachers had given up on doing things the normal way, and with many threats from Snape, detentions from McGonagall and even a few bribes; some sort of order was restored in the school.

"Mr Zabini," cried McGonagall exasperated, "what do you think you're doing?" she had been patrolling the corridors when she had come across the seventh year Slytherin and his small gang of friends.

The boy shrugged carelessly, not answering the enraged witch.

"Is there a particular reason why you are not in your lessons?" she asked the group.

"Not really," smirked a skinny blonde boy, making the rest of the gang laugh.

"In that case," smiled the teacher, "You'll be in detention for the rest of the week," she said grabbing his ear and dragging him down the corridor towards her office and away from his friends, ignoring his protests,

"Ow! Let go of me!" he cried, "what do you mean the rest of the week… it's only Monday!" his voice went slightly higher pitched as McGonagall pulled on his ear tighter, "This is child abuse! Crazy old witch."

"Make that two weeks detention and fifty points off Slytherin.

* * *

Hermione, who had spent most of the night awake, worrying about the missing Draco, decided to spend her Sunday morning with Hagrid, in hope that the company would distract her. Before she could lift her hand to bang on the door, it swung open startling her. "'Mione, what yeh doin' out there?" the large man asked merrily ushering her inside "Come in."

She smiled and stepped inside the hut, whilst Hagrid bustled around making tea "How yer been?" He asked.

"Okay, I guess, how about you?"

"Fine, I were just on my way to see Malfoy when I found yer on my doorstep,"

Hermione was suddenly very alert, "Malfoy?"

"Ye, found him early this morning by the lake, must'a spent the night out there. 'E was unconscious like, and err well I ain't a biggest fan of that family, but he didn't deserve to freeze to death. Dun' no what he was doin' out there. Took him up to Madame Pomfrey, 'e was barely breathing."

The head girl paled slightly, then she was up like a shot, "Thanks Hagrid. I have to go."

"Bye," the giant called out after her in mild amusement, but the girl didn't hear, as she was already out the door and sprinting towards the castle. It was only once she reached the doors of the infirmary that she paused to gather her breath and thoughts. She was worried about Draco, and felt rather foolish for it. Shrugging away these thoughts she stepped inside the room.

* * *

The first thing Draco saw when he opened his eyes was Hermione. He sat up gently as so not to disturb her sleep, as a strange turn of fate, the girl was sitting on the chair next to his bed. He looked around taking in the surroundings of the room. He was in the infirmary, with no recollection of how he got there, or why.

"You're awake," smiled Hermione having also just arisen from sleep, "I must have falling asleep," she commented, pointing out the obvious as so to fill the silence.

"How did I get here?" Draco asked confused, not bothering to exchange meaningless pleasantries with the girl.

She bit her lip before mumbling, "Hagrid found you unconscious by the lake yesterday morning, nearly frozen to death. Why the hell did you go out side in the rain? I was so worried!"

"I didn't think anyone would notice I was gone," he shrugged.

"I noticed!" She murmured, fingering the white bed sheets for lack of anything else to do.

Just when she thought he wasn't going to reply the blonde boy began to talk, "I was thinking," he felt he could confide in her, "just about my mum, about life… about death," he sighed sadly. "You know what I don't get," it was not so much a question, but a statement, "why did she marry him? He was always so cruel to her. Why?"

"Everyone needs someone," Hermione said sadly. Both students remained silent, thinking about these words. Neither noticed the nurse come into the room until she started speaking.

"No no no. This just won't do! They boy needs his rest, come on out!" she said ushering Hermione towards the door, the girl opened her mouth to protest but the nurse continued, "I said you could stay until he wakes, and as you can see he is wide awake now. He needs rest; not visitors!"

Hermione didn't bother to argue about it; instead she grudgingly traipsed down to the great hall to have breakfast, as she walked her thoughts were with the blonde boy.

She had been so worried for him, and she hated to see him so sad, every time she saw his eyes fill with pain she just wanted to comfort him. With all that that had happened since the start of the school year, Hermione couldn't help but find herself taking a liking to the boy; she just wished there was something she could do to take his pain away.

She bit her lip as she entered the great hall and took a seat between Ron and Ginny. The Gryffindor table was full of hungry students, all piling their plates up with more eggs and slices of bacon than they could possibly eat. Hermione took a neat bite out of a waffle, whilst Ron and Harry greedily ate more sausage sandwiches, than was advisable. The head girl did not notice Ginny studying her from the corner of her eye until she spoke to her, "Are you okay Hermione, you look like you could do with some sleep.

"Yeah, you look awful!" added Parvati, and getting a glare from the Weasley girl in the process.

"I'm fine," Hermione replied through gritted teeth, "I'm just a bit tired,"

"Well as long as that's all," shrugged Ginny, "maybe you should skip studying tonight and just go to bed early."

"Sure," nodded the head girl, unable to muster up the energy to protest, instead she buttered a toast she had no intention of eating and took a sip of orange juice out of her goblet.

Whilst the others prepared to go to their first lessons of the day, Hermione gathered her things and headed down to the library; McGonagall had given her the morning off in order to finalise the arrangements of the fast approaching Christmas dance. It had been decided by the teachers that it would be best to go ahead with all plans which Dumbledore had made, as so not to further disrupt the school. The head girl smiled at the thought of organising a dance she had no intention of attending; however, the job itself was a welcome distraction from everything around her.

The task of arranging a dance however turned out to be a lot harder than Hermione had originally assumed. Who would have thought that decorating could be so difficult to the girl, who excelled in everything?

* * *

As Draco lay on the bed in the infirmary, he let himself submerse into the world of thoughts, and it did not take long for his thoughts to revert back to the Gryffindor girl. Draco could tell she really cared for him, but he knew he could not allow himself to get too close, his father would find out and her life would be in grave danger. He could not allow that to happen; she was a friend, and didn't want to loose her.

However, what he _should_ do and what he _wanted_ to do were two entirely different things. He wanted to be close to her, to talk to her, to laugh with her. A year ago he would have been disgusted by these thoughts; but so much had happened since then.

It burned a hole in his heart to think of his mother as dead… murdered. She was the only person who ever truly loved him. But he knew he couldn't grieve forever; he wouldn't give Lucius the satisfaction.

Being stuck in the infirmary had given him time to think things through, and he knew the only logical step to take next would be forward. What he also knew however is that when the time came, and it _would_ come, he would get revenge; his father would pay for what he had done.

Draco looked up as Madame Pomfrey walked out of her office to check up on him. "Can I go yet?" he asked her hopefully.

"Don't be ridiculous," she chided "you'll be in here for a few more days yet."

"But I feel fine," the blonde boy complained.

"All I try and do is help, and what do I get?" complained the nurse to no one in particular as she turned and headed back to her office, "some gratitude wouldn't go amiss. The things I have to put up with…." Draco stared after her, one brow carefully raised. She continued complaining, however the boy could not hearher anymoreas she had closed the office door behind her, sealingthe flow of angrywords from being heard.

Draco leaned back against his pillow and stared blankly at the wall opposite. He truly did feel better. He could have sworn Madame Pomfrey had given him enough medication to revive the dead, not to mention the piles of blankets she had thrust upon him.

The blonde boy gave a long sigh, he was not used to being confined in small rooms; especially with nothing to do but immerse into his own thoughts to occupy himself.

* * *

Upon professor McGonagall's orders, the teachers had collected together, to discuss the current situation of Hogwarts without a head master. "It is not safe," sighed professor Trelawney, "Hogwarts must close."

"Don't be ridiculous" interrupted Snape, then he added in a much quieter voice, "psychotic old bat."

"Sybill is right, the students are in danger without Dumbledore, if anything happens to any of them…" started the new defence against the dark arts teacher, however with a well-placed glare from Snape, he trailed off.

"But that's what they want," reminded McGonagall, "do you really think after all these years of fighting we should just give up?" She asked, looking at each of the teachers in turn.

"So your pride is more important than the students safety?" Muttered one of the teachers sitting in the far corner of the small room.

"The head master would have wanted the school to remain open," added Snape.

A murmur of agreement travelled round the room.

"Perhaps we should put it to a vote?" suggested one of the professors.

McGonagall nodded in agreement before saying; "Please raise your hands if you are in favour of Hogwarts School remaining open during Dumbledore's absence." She silently counted the hands which rose.

* * *


	8. Playful words

**A/N: Okay admittedly this chapter is not that long however I have updated quite fast so I'm hoping you'll forgive me. Once again I would like to thank those who have reviewed because it always cheers me up when I get reviews: Natasha2014, Celebrean and Mariana. **

**I am not that great at writing the romance bits but I did try. I hope you enjoy it anyway. And please review. **

**Disclaimer: No change from last time folks, I still don't own Harry Potter. Which is a real shame on my behalf, I would have enjoyed being rich. **

* * *

Hermione let the warmth of the fire surround her. Outside, a white blanket of snow covered the Hogwarts grounds, reminding her of the Christmas holidays fast approaching. Outside it was freezing, inside it was toasty warm; that was how she liked it. 

It was Saturday morning and she had been up since seven doing homework in the empty common room. All that could be heard was the scratching of her quill against the paper and the occasional sigh, which escaped her lips.

"You know, it's not good to do so much work," came a voice from behind her making her jump.

"Oh good Madame Pomfrey let you out," Hermione smiled up at the blonde boy.

"I'm telling you, she was practically keeping me hostage… crazy old bat!" he said shaking his head and taking a step closer so as to take a seat next to Hermione. As he sat down his face grew more serious, "I've been meaning to say… well… thank you."

Her eyebrows knitted together for a moment in confusion, "What for?"

"For caring," he mumbled. The boy felt rather foolish, he sparsely thanked people, and her lack of response did nothing to console him. Neither spoke for a second after that but Hermione turned to face him; then, before she could contemplate her next move, she leaned closer and pressed her lips onto his. Draco who had not anticipated this move immediately tensed up and gently pushed her away.

"Sorry," she mumbled, not meeting his eyes, she couldn't believe she had just done that. She stood up to leave the room however he grabbed onto her arm at the last second and pulled her towards him. They stood only millimetres apart. Upon instinct Draco reached out and brushed her hair gently from her eyes, then he returned her kiss; gently at first, then more deeply. He liked the feeling of her lips pressing against his. For a split second the world around them stopped and they left all troubled behind.

Hermione could feel her heart doing little summersaults inside her chest. As they broke apart Draco smiled, and for the first time in a long time, the smile reached his eyes.

* * *

Snape sighed desolately as he marked page after page of homework handed in by students; most of the time he wondered why he even bothered reading it at all; just by looking at the name on the top left hand corner he could decipher which grade the work would amount to; and most of them did not amount to much. 

He looked up as McGonagall walked in; the witch looked sad and tired, "I hope I'm not interrupting Severus but… there are things we need to discuss."

Snape shook his head and motioned for her to sit, as he expected she declined, and instead gently paced around the room until she found the right words. "They can't close the school," her usually hard complexion looked like it was about to crumble.

"We put it to the vote," Snape said regretfully, "it has been officially decided to close. We have no choice."

"Damn the vote!" cried the witch, her voice echoed for a moment around the dungeons before they returned to silence once more. Eventually she continued, "Dumbledore would not have wanted the school to close. This is not what was meant to happen; they were meant to vote for the school to remain open."

"They fear," reasoned the potions teacher, he stood up from his chair behind his desk and went over to the distressed woman, "they are neither as strong or confident as you, they fear what will happen without the head master. They know the Dark Lord is back."

"Me? Strong and confident?" she repeated sadly, "no, I am merely trying to do the right thing by the school. Think of the students, united they stand a chance, but alone…" she trailed off shaking her head in anger and despair, it seemed as though she had run out of both chances and ideas.

"We've tried our best there is nothing more we can do," replied Snape.

"I'm not giving up; I will do everything in my power to make sure Hogwarts School remains open!" She protested.

The greasy haired teacher shook his head sadly, trying not to get annoyed with the stubborn witch. "Minerva, the school cannot run without teachers and it was made clear in the last meeting that most of them wish for the school to close." He wished for the school to remain open as much as she did, but there was nothing either of them could do, they had put it to the vote, and it was clear that the majority wanted Hogwarts to shut until Dumbledore returned. Even if they kept it open despite the vote, it had been made clear that most of the teachers would leave regardless. The school could not run without teachers.

* * *

Lucius Malfoy glared at the young death eater in front of him, "Why have I not had any feedback?" he demanded, "the Dark Lord is growing increasingly irate with the lack of progress," Lucius took a step forward taking the teenager from the scruff of his neck, "and to tell the truth I'm getting pretty pissed off too." He slammed the boy into the wall opposite. 

"I… I'm… sorry," the teenage death eater spluttered.

"Sorry?" Lucius mimicked, he lifted the boy up again and threw him on the wall opposite, "You will be if you fail me again!"

"Now, I asked you to find out who Draco is close to… you have twenty four hours… fail again, and they will we your last," the blonde man grinned sadistically at the horrified look on the boys face. He kicked him in the stomach, and then walked out of the room, leaving behind the boy death eater, a terrified pile on the floor.

* * *

Harry, Ron and Ginny sat in front of the fire in the Gryffindor common room talking in hushed whispers, "he's back isn't he?" asked Ginny sadly watching Harry rub his scar in frustration. 

"We don't know that for sure," mumbled Harry trying to console the Weasley girl.

"Come on Harry I know that your scar hurting is never a good thing, I'm not a child you know, you can tell me!" She said irritated.

"What do you want me to say?" he asked sadly.

"The truth," she demanded.

"Fine Voldemort is back in power, I can feel it and I have done for some time now," he said raising his voice slightly. Ron spluttered, choking on the chocolate he had been eating.

Ginny looked at Harry sadly, "You've beaten him before Harry, you'll do it again."

He shook his head sadly then said in a low whisper, "I can sense his power, he is stronger than he has ever been." Then he added, "I'm scared Ginny, I don't know what to do."

"Come on mate you'll be fine," said Ron attempting to sound positive.

"I don't know… I just don't know," he said in a barely audible whisper.

* * *

Hermione looked out of her window into the night; the contrast of the black sky against the white glowing moon made the girl enthralled by its beauty, however her thoughts were filled with a certain blonde Slytherin. She was being torn apart inside over what to do. On the one hand, they way she felt when their lips joined was a feeling entirely new to her and she liked it, however he was a Slytherin, they had been enemies for years not to mention that Slytherin/Gryffindor relationships were unheard of in the history of Hogwarts. 

Although she did not know it much the same thoughts were going through Draco's mind. He was lying on his bed thinking. He had spent his whole life blocking such frivolous feelings; yet, now he had felt them he couldn't understand why. He liked the way Hermione made his heart race nonetheless he knew it would never work. She was a Gryffindor; her best friends were Potter and Weasley for goodness sake!

He looked up as there was a knock on the door, he jumped off his bed and opened it motioning for Hermione to come in.

"We need to talk," she smiled leaning against the now shut door.

"Yes, we do," he mumbled taking a step forward to stand in front of her.

"The kiss… it was just a spare of the moment thing," she said biting her lower lip absentmindedly.

"It will never work out," continued Draco reassuring the girl.

She nodded "Exactly. We just have to make sure it never happens again,"

"Never again" he repeated closing the gap between them.

They both remained silent, thinking over their mutual agreement. Hermione looked up at the boy and before she could change her mind she suggested, "Maybe we should start from tomorrow?"

Draco found himself grinning as the girl tiptoed up and kissed him gently on the lips, "how about we start next week?" he asked playfully.

They were both oblivious to the young death eater who was watching them from outside the window, a callous grin on his face. With one more look back at the two students he flew off to find Lucius to tell him what he had seen.

* * *

**A/N: Thank you to everyone who read this and please review. **


	9. Familiar face

**A/N: I would once again like to thank all those who have been reading my story, and a special thank you to those who have reviewed: couch-potato01, Lauz, pixieballerina, mara, Viresse Lote , omnipotent otaku , Lucifer's Lair , the little elf from hillcrest, Linwe Amandil, The British Youth Guardain, England, saerry and also to Lil' Bode who e-mails me her reviews. Reviews always cheer me up because that way i know that people are actually reading what i am writing... so once again thank you.**

**I would have updated sooner however i had a mixture of food poisoning and writers block. I hope you all enjoy this chapter and please review and tell me what you think of it. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter (duh!) **

**Ok i will let you all read it now. Hope you enjoy.**

* * *

_The girl seemed familiar; she stared at her intently but with the distance between them it was no use, Hermione couldn't tell. She looked up at the sky, it was snowing and Hogwarts grounds were covered by a thick white blanket. A man ran out of the castle; he looked amazingly like Lucius Malfoy. Her breath caught in her throat, something was going to happen, she could feel it. He greeted the girl and she seemed to know him. _

_  
He turned his back to her for a moment, taking something out of his pocket; it glistened in the moonlight and made Hermione gasp, "RUN!" she shouted out to the girl but neither heard, she tried to run forward but it was as though she was stuck in place, a mere spectator of what was about to happen._

_She watched in horror as the delicate silver blade slid easily into the girls' stomach, her expression not one of pain, but one of confusion. Hermione watched his lips move as he whispered something into her ear; she was unable to do anything but slowly watch the life leave her. A few drops of red blood spattered onto the snow staining its perfect whiteness. He stepped back grinning, letting her limp body fall to the ground._

"_NOOO!" she heard a voice call out from behind her. _

_The figure looked up, "it's too late" he called out; wiping the blood off the knife onto a clean handkerchief; "try saving your little princess now." Cold laughter penetrated Hermione's mind. She looked over her shoulder to see who was there... Suddenly the dream began to fade._

The Gryffindor girl woke with a start, cold laughter still resounding in her ears; the dream still fresh in her mind. She breathed in deeply allowing air to fill up her lungs, yet the more she did this, the less the oxygen entered her body. She held onto her throat, gasping for breath.

"Draco…" she tried to call but it came out more like a whisper, she was running out of oxygen fast. The girl stumbled out of bed yet fell to the floor almost immediately; she crawled to the wall and with the last of her energy banged her fist on it, praying Draco would hear.

It was as though she was choking, her airways had blocked up, and the harder she attempted to breathe, the more she coughed and spluttered. The last thing Hermione saw before she passed out was a blonde figure running into the room.

* * *

McGonagall and Snape stood in a well-lit chamber by the fire, unmasked rage replacing their previously calm faces. They were not alone. Cornelius Fudge sat in a large chair opposite the two teachers gently sipping a cup of tea. 

"As it is the unanimous vote of the other teachers there is nothing further I can do but slightly delay the closing of the school," he said carefully placing his cup onto the table and crossing his legs for lack of anything else to do. "I personally believe it would be best to shut the school within the next week… for safety reasons of course," he continued, "however as you are so adamant I will give you one month exactly," he said in a matter of fact tone. "Hogwarts School shall close on the sixteenth of January. All students and teachers alike will be sent home."

McGonagall tried to keep her voice steady as she argued, "But they will be safer here, together! Dumbledore would have…"

"Dumbledore is gone," Fudge interrupted, "there is nothing more I can say. Good day Minerva… Severus" and with a slight bow of his head in the direction of the two teachers he left the room leaving behind Snape to deal with McGonagall's filthy mood.

"One month!" she fumed, "one bloody month!"

"We'll have to send out letters to all of the parents," Snape said calmly.

"Where the hell is Dumbledore," mumbled McGonagall staring darkly into the fire. This was not how it was supposed to happen; she had once made a promise to the head master that if he be absent from Hogwarts she would do everything humanly possible to keep the school running as it should be. He had only been gone a few weeks and she had failed already. She shook her head sadly causing a few strands of hair to fall out of her neat bun, "this is all wrong," she mumbled.

* * *

Ron was eliminating a fifth bowl of cinnamon porridge; Ginny observed him in mild amusement, content with watching her brother eat almost his body weight in food whilst she and Harry talked. 

"Ahem" The Griffindor table went silent; Harry Potter turned around, and upon seeing Malfoy standing there he leapt up wand poised.

"Put that down Potter before you poke your eye out," Draco rolled his eyes; he waited patiently whilst Ron fumbled around in his pocket for his own wand so as to defend Harry. "It's on the table Weasley," he sighed exasperated, pointing to Ron's wand, "not very good at this sidekick thing are you?" he asked patronisingly.

"What do you want Malfoy?" muttered Harry, whilst Ron tried to control his temper.

"A word in private actually," the Slytherin Prince said, looking down the Gryffindor table, a few of the younger students pretended they hadn't been eavesdropping, but most just stared, open mouthed waiting for Harry's reply. "It's about Hermione," he added.

Harry and Ron looked at each other confused, "Hermione?" Ron asked.

"Yes," Draco replied getting annoyed, "you know about that tall," he said indicating with his hand, "bushy hair… thinks she knows everything."

"What your on a first name basis with her now?" snorted the ginger boy.

"Yes," Draco shrugged and swept out of the great hall, hoping Potter would follow him.

Harry nudged his friend in the stomach and followed the blonde boy; "Ron shut your mouth before you catch some flies in there," scolded Ginny who was still in denial of the fact that she was slowly turning into her mother. The Weasley boy did as he was told and then, after a second of contemplation, ran to catch up with Harry.

Once they were out of the great hall Draco got straight to the point, "Hermione's in the hospital wing she…."

"What did you do to her you git!" Ron shouted; Harry had to grab him from the back of his robes to keep him from jumping on the head boy.

"I give up with you two," Draco sighed shaking his head, "I don't see why I even bothered."

Without a glance back Draco walked up to the infirmary leaving the two Gryffindor boys wondering what to do. Upon reaching he crept inside in hope that Madame Pomfrey would not hear him. No such luck...

"I think not Mr Malfoy, she needs _rest_," the nurse emphasised the last word as if Malfoy were a child which needed everything explaining to.

"But…" he complained

"I said no!" she barked.

"Please Madame Pomfrey leave him in, I'm fine," joined in Hermione, she got out of bed gently.

"Goodness me!" the nurse squealed, "get back in bed at once," then she added grudgingly, "and I will allow Mr Malfoy to stay for a little while. With an annoyed glance back at the head boy and girl she locked herself in her office.

"How are you?" Draco asked.

"We haven't got time for that now," Hermione whispered urgently, "I had another dream, someone's going to die…" she trailed off.

"Who?" Draco asked sitting on the edge of the bed.

"I don't know, they were too far away to make out a face, but the man, he had blonde hair, I think it was your father," she looked up at him sadly.

"I wouldn't put it past the bastard," the boy growled, then as an after thought, "when does it happen?"

"I don't know…but it was snowing, I remember it was snowing," both of them simultaneously looked out of the window, Hogwarts grounds were as they always were; both gave a sigh of relief.

"We have time yet," he mumbled.

"There's one thing I don't understand," Hermione mused, "the man, he stabbed her. Why not just use magic?"

Both students remained silent for a few moments thinking over what to do, when something occurred to Draco, "what happened this morning?" he asked.

"What do you mean?" the girl asked.

"Exactly that, why couldn't you breathe?" he replied.

"I think…" she paused for a moment, "when in the dreams, whatever the victim feels, I feel. It was like that with…" she trailed off looking into the boys eyes.

"My mum?" he asked gently.

"Yes, I felt the curse. Last time however the pain stopped when I awoke, this time it continued," a tear escaped the corner of her eye and Draco tenderly wiped it away.

"GET OFF HER!" came a voice from the door making them both jump.

"But I was just…" before Draco could get any further the Weasley boy tackled him to the ground.

"RON!" shouted Hermione, "get off him NOW!"

"Maybe I should go," sighed Draco, gently pushing Ron off him. "Perhaps it is time you told them," Draco stood up and then leaned closer and whispered in a voice only Hermione could hear, "about your dreams".

With that he casually walked out of the room, leaving the three Gryffindors behind, "Tell us what Hermione?" came the distant voice of Harry.

* * *

"Sir," the teenager bowed to Lucius, "I have a name," the young death eater grinned. "Indeed your son is close to someone, a lady friend." 

"Waste no more time you fool," shouted Lucius, "GIVE ME THE NAME!"

"Granger. Hermione Granger."

At this Lucius Malfoy jumped forward, grabbing the boy by his hair and pulled his head back, placing a wand at his throat, the boy whimpered pathetically. "Is this some joke?" he snarled, pressing the wand harder upon the boys pale skin.

"N...no" he stuttered, "I s…saw it with my own eyes."

"A Malfoy and a mudblood," Lucius spat, "he has shamed the Malfoy name more than I ever thought possible; both of them will die," he smirked coldly, "but first I have a promise to keep... when I have finished with them, Draco will be nothing more than a burnt out fire." He laughed coldly, "I have an idea…" he said, turning to the young death eater, "but first…" The blonde man lifted his wand and with a few well-placed words, the boy was nothing more than a corpse lying on the floor.

Over the years Lucius had been growing increasingly irate with the mudblood, he would enjoy killing her as much as he would enjoy killing Draco. He would stand over them both and watch the life slowly seep out of both of their bodies; this thought made the blonde man smile.

* * *


	10. Tender kiss

**A/N: I would once again like to thank my wonderful reviewers: omnipotent otaku, Linwe Amandil and Lady-Delphinea. **

**Disclaimer: Nope, not mine. I still don't own Harry Potter. **

**On with the fic:**

* * *

Hermione Granger sat in the hospital wing, explaining to Harry and Ron about the premonitions she'd been having, as she had had expected they weren't taking the news that well. 

"How long have has this been going on?" Muttered Ron, referring to the premonitions.

"A while," Hermione mumbled, looking at her hands.

"And how long has Malfoy known?" added Harry

"A while" She mumbled, "look I would have told you guys but…"

"but what you trust that Malfoy git more than us?" Ron finished off bitterly

The Gryffindor girl bit her lip; she knew they would react like this… only she thought it would have been for different reasons. "It's not like that," she insisted.

"Then what's it like Hermione? All of a sudden we're not good enough for you?" The ginger boy continued, he knew in his heart that this was not the case, however he was too angry to see this now.

"You know that's not true!" Hermione almost shouted.

"Do we?" shot back Harry resentfully, he had up till now remained relatively silent. "Come on Ron," he mumbled and with that they left the head girl to think over her actions.

Hermione had always dreaded telling her friends about her premonitions, she had expected them to think she was crazy, now she realised she had been the stupid one by not entrusting them with her secret.

* * *

Draco sighed desolately as a group of first year girls giggled and squealed whilst shooting him smiles every few seconds; he pretend not to notice them whilst he finished pinning up the last of the posters for the school Christmas dance. Due to Hermione being in the hospital wing McGonagall had assigned him the task of making sure all the posters were up. 

He raised his brow at one of the girls who was trying to catch his attention, he turned and walked off in the opposite direction, ignoring her waving hand; usually such attention lifted his mood and he would at least grace the girls with a wink, however today, for reasons unknown to him or anyone else, Draco did not bask in the attention.

The dance was due to start at seven o'clock in the evening on Christmas day and a special visit to hogsmead had been arranged by McGonagall to give everyone a chance to buy extravagant dresses and other such finery.

All that stood now between Draco and the long awaited holidays was a double lesson of potions, this thought cheered the blonde boy up immensely, he looked down at his watch, he had twenty minutes before the lesson started. Deciding Potter and Weasley must have already left the infirmary, Draco chose to go keep the bushy haired Gryffindor company… anything to escape the masses of giggling hormonal adolescence which seemed to be round every corner.

Meanwhile Hermione Granger had just about had enough of the nurse scuttling around after her; she was sick of being treated like a fragile glass doll, not to mention all the classes she'd missed. She did not notice Draco enter the room, nor did she notice the look of mild amusement, which replaced his previous bored expression, as she crept out of bed trying not to make a noise and gently slipped on her shoes.

"What are you doing?" he asked calmly. He tried not to laugh at her startled face; obviously clueless to the fact any one else was in the room.

"Running away," she said quietly.

Draco quirked a brow but said nothing.

"Don't look at me like that!" she said, "the woman is driving me insane," she said pointing to Madame Pomfrey's office, "plus I can't miss the last potions lesson before the Christmas holidays, do you know how much work I will miss. It might be important!"

Draco quirked the other brow.

"Stop it!" She complained sticking her tongue out childishly.

"So did you tell Potter and Weasley about your premonitions?" he asked casually, however from the way her expression fell immediately he knew this had been a subject he should have steered clear from.

"They hate me," she mumbled sadly, "it's my fault, I should have told them earlier."

Draco inwardly cursed himself for bringing up the subject, he hated seeing her upset, "I'm sure they'll get over it," he said, "I mean lets face it Potters always been a bit of a drama queen."

"Don't say that!" Hermione chided, throwing a pillow at Draco's head, however he could see she was trying hard not to smile.

The head girl wondered how it was that Draco could lift her mood so easily, even when only an few hours ago she had been so distraught because of her fight with the boys. "Your right. But not about the drama queen thing," she added before he began to look too smug.

Draco looked down at his watch, "potions starts in five minutes. You coming?"

Hermione checked to make sure Madame Pomfrey was tucked away in her office, before nodding and following the blonde boy out of the infirmary, casually slipping her hand in his as they walked down the deserted corridor.

* * *

The head girl sat in her normal seat in potions next to Harry, however despite many attempts to start up a conversation, the boy seemed to be doing his utmost to ignore her. 

"Harry…" she began, however she fell silent as a she noticed the monotonous instructions from Snape had stopped and the classroom had gone quiet. Hermione looked up from her desk, to have the unfortunate displeasure of meeting the eyes of a furious, greasy haired teacher.

"Perhaps miss Granger finds herself so above everyone else she thinks she has the right to talk through my class?" he began.

"No sir I…" she began quietly.

"How dare you interrupt me! Twenty points off Gryffindor," he smirked. The head girl looked down at her hands apologetically, refusing to look anyone in the eye. "Well what are you waiting for," he shouted at the class, "get to work!"

Draco stirred his cauldron, carefully glancing over at the head girl every now and then; her eyes were red and puffy, yet she had managed to contain every one of the tears, which were bursting to escape her cinnamon eyes. Potty and Weasel had clearly hurt her… in his opinion she was better off without them anyways. He tore his eyes away from the girl and added the final ingredients to his potion.

* * *

Ginny Weasley listened intently as the two boys told her about their argument with Hermione, their guilty expressions a give away of their feelings on the situation. Ron coughed uncomfortably at the silence caused by Ginny's enraged expression. "Ronald Weasley," she began, using his full name, a habit she had acquired from her mother, used only when her brother misbehaved, "you mean to tell me Hermione entrusted you and Harry by telling you a secret and you are now ignoring her." 

"She trusted Malfoy first!" reminded Ron, trying to redeem himself for his actions.

"You said yourself, it was that or let him die!" Shot back the red head girl.

"Exactly! Why couldn't she have just done that?" joined in Harry.

Ginny shook her head exasperatedly, "fine, you too can either stay here and try and convince yourselves that infact it is Hermione that is in the wrong, or, you can go apologise."

"But I don't want to…" whined Ron.

The young Weasley girl glared at the two boys and repeated through gritted teeth, "or, you can go apologise," when neither boy moved she added, "NOW!"

"We're going," mumbled her brother as he stood up.

"Good, I knew you would see it my way," the girl smiled sweetly.

* * *

Hermione walked to the common room slowly, she couldn't face going to the great hall for dinner, so instead had decided to spend the rest of the evening in front of the fire with a good book, however her mind was awhirl with thoughts and she knew concentrating would be a task in itself. Her mind was ridden with guilt for not telling her friends earlier about her premonitions. She hated fighting with them, and she hated the fact that this time, it was her fault. The head girl stood up and paced around the room slowly, inwardly debating what to do. 

At last having come to a decision the girl slipped on her shoes and ran out of the portrait, not noticing the blonde boy outside until it was too late and she had knocked him to the ground.

"Tell me Granger, is there a reason why you are running around like a mad woman knocking people over?" he joked.

"No. I mean yes. I'm going to do apologise to Harry and Ron," she explained.

The head boy raised a brow, pulling her down to the floor next to him, "but you haven't done anything wrong," he reminded. "Plus I wanted to talk to you. It's important."

The head girl nodded leaning against the wall, "shall we go inside?" she asked signalling to the common room.

"No point, no one comes down here anyways," he muttered. "Look I wanted to ask about the other night."

Hermione blushed deeply, immediately understanding what he was talking about; she wasn't sure what he wanted her to say. Did he think that kissing her was a mistake? "What about it?" she asked trying to sound innocent.

"Well I… what I mean is…" Draco Malfoy was not a person often lost for words, this however was one of the very few exceptions and he inwardly cursed himself for bringing up the subject. All of a sudden he was very aware of how close they were sitting, and how nice she smelt. He looked at her lips longing to have them pressed against his own…

* * *

"I don't see why we have to apologise to her!" huffed Ron as he and Harry walked down to Hermione's common room on order of Ginny. 

Harry shrugged, "lets just get it over with mate, I hate it when we argue".

The two boys casually walked round the corner, however stopped in their tracks abruptly at what met their eyes. They stared in horror as they watched from afar whilst Draco Malfoy tenderly kissed their friend.


	11. Hooded figure

**A/N: I know this is a very short chapter, but it's a kind of "in-between" chapter where basically I'm just moving the story line along a bit. I would once again like to thank all those who reviewed my last chapter: Lady-Delphinea, padfoot-lover1 and Janie Granger.**

**I figured since it's a romance/angst fic I should add in some romance, and I have… not very good romance I admit but it's my first time at writing a fic so I'm hoping you'll all forgive me.**

**I've had the ending planned for a LONG time, the only problem is that I planned the last five chapters and the first six, so I had like four chapters in between which are not that great. (I don't know why I bothered writing that but whatever).**

**Please read and review.**

**Disclaimer: Harry Potter does not belong to me… bla bla… on with fic.**

* * *

She noticed them straight away; she could see the looks of disgust cross their faces and the look of anger in their eyes. She ignored the hurt look on Draco's face as she abruptly pushed him away and ran after her two friends who were already walking away. 

"Harry…" she called out after them, "Ron… it's not what you think"

"We don't know you any more Hermione," whispered Harry sadly.

"Why are you being like this? I've done nothing wrong!" she fumed.

"Nothing wrong!" mimicked Ron, "What do you call sucking on Malfoy's face?"

"It wasn't like that!" she almost shouted.

"What was it like then… perhaps you fell into his mouth. Is that what happened Hermione? Did you fall onto his lips?" asked Harry.

"And to think," said Ron glaring at her, "_we_ came to apologise to _you_".

"You don't understand…" she began.

"Let me guess… you think he loves you," snorted Harry, not noticing the tears which had filled the head girls eyes.

Without another look back both boys turned and walked away from their friend, and she watched them leave, not saying a word.

* * *

She used to think she was the luckiest girl in the world… she had friends that would never leave her, unbeatable grades and parents who loved her. She thought these were the things that mattered. The _only_ things that mattered. She was wrong. 

Her heart felt something she had never felt before when in the presence of a certain blonde Slytherin, and yet she knew her friends would hate her forever if she gave in to these frivolous feelings, but how could she recede when her heart kept pulling her closer to that which she cannot have.

She had cried after the fight with Harry and Ron, she was angry at them for what they had said, and yet in a way she understood them.

Yet with these thoughts in mind she felt selfish, how can she care about petty things such as kisses and romance when people's lives are in her hands?

Every night she goes to sleep, unknowing of what she may see. The deaths and destruction which to most only appear as nightmares… she sees them knowing they will soon come to pass, yet not knowing how to stop them. She realised this is what matters now, lives that have been lost… lives, which will be lost, all in the hands of fate, appearing inevitable, yet, she already proved that changing the inevitable is possible.

Will there ever be an end to this meandering road of confusion?

It scared her… all the choices she had to make, but worst of all, the thought of making the wrong decision.

Hermione looked out of her bedroom window, thinking back to the last dream she had, the girl… who seemed so familiar, yet with the distance between them she could not place a name to the blurred face. She still had time to save her; she remembered the one tale-tell sign, which marked the day of her death.

Snow.

* * *

The hooded figure entered the shop with a cold air about him; he approached the counter, knowing exactly what he wanted. 

"I need a potion," he hissed, then, so as not to be heard by anyone else, he leant closer to the man behind the counter and whispered in a voice no one else could hear what potion he wanted.

"But that takes over a month to brew!" was the reply he got.

The hooded figure took out a small bag of coins and threw them in the direction of the wizard behind the counter, "you were saying…?" he drawled from under his cloak.

"I'll have some in for you by next week," smiled the old wizard, and so it was settled.

"Excellent," muttered the man, stepping back out of the shop only lowering his hood once well out of sight.

* * *

He stood outside her bedroom door, contemplating whether he should knock. She was his friend, and a friendship can't be broken so easily, he just had to know… just one little question. 

"Hermione…" he called knocking on her door gently, he didn't wait for a reply, as he had a feeling she would not answer.

She looked up at him, and he could see the hurt in her eyes, hurt that he had caused. Harry looked at her, an innocuous look on his face, "I need to ask you something," he said, sitting down beside her on the bed.

"Why should I bother answering?" she shrugged.

"Look Hermione, I hate fighting with you and you know that, please don't make this more difficult," he said, his eyes silently pleading her.

"Does Ron know you're here?" she asked.

Harry shook his head, "no, he's still angry".

"What, and you're not angry?" she mumbled.

"It depends," he gently pushed his glasses back up his nose, "do you love him? That's all I want to know".

She remained silent. What was love anyway? How was she to know if that was what she was feeling?

Every time he walked in the room, her heart would beat that little bit faster. His presence alone would make her smile. And imagining life without him was like imagining living a half-life.

Was that love?

She didn't reply, but she didn't need to, Harry was a smart boy and he could read the expression on her face.


	12. At the hands of evil

**A/N: I would like to thank the following people for reviewing my last chapter: JanieGranger, LillyOfTheValley, Marilyn, Slayergirl1362, LadyDelphinea, omnipotent otaku and JTfanaddict**

**I know I have not updated in quite a while, but with my exams drawing nearer I don't have as much time for my stories as I would like. However as it is the Easter holidays I decided to update this story.**

**I hope you enjoy. Please read and review.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. **

* * *

She looked into his large green eyes, they were unreadable and that scared her more than anything, "I'm sorry," she whispered at last. 

Harry sighed and looked at her as if for the first time, "what do you want me to say?" he asked quietly.

"Just tell me you forgive me," the Gryffindor girl mumbled sadly.

He opened his mouth as though to speak but then closed it again, instead leaning over and surprising the bushy haired girl with a hug. He had considered shouting at her… storming out and refusing to speak to her. But what good would that have done? Since the start of the year Harry felt Hermione slipping through his fingers; she used to trust him, but now they barely spoke, and he hated it. He couldn't risk loosing her again.

He just wanted things to go back to how they were.

"I hate it when we fight," he shrugged, a small smile playing on his lips, "plus, who would I have to copy potions homework from?" He laughed as Hermione's pillow hit him square on the face.

* * *

Minerva McGonagall stood in her usual manner, head held high and every hair in place, tightly tied in a perfect bun. Her shoulders straight and posture so perfect one could tell it must have come naturally to her. She tapped her knife gently on the side of her goblet looking down upon the four tables full of Hogwarts students. She neither spoke nor moved until complete silence had fallen over the students. They looked at her expectantly, and she in return looked at them, a sad expression on her face, and yet she still had about her an air of power and strength. 

"I am afraid," she began addressing the students, "that I have some bad news. By order of the ministry and Cornelius Fudge, the school will the shut down…" she paused for a brief second whilst an outburst of voices erupted from the hall, she tapped her knife once more upon the goblet and continued addressing the students, and "the school will be shut down on the sixteenth of January due to the growing danger of safety here at Hogwarts," she finished bitterly, "there is nothing I can do".

She observed the students from where she stood, each had a different reaction, and then lastly her gaze fell upon Harry, his face distraught, knowing he would return to his aunt and uncle seemed to be worst than the threat of Voldemort to him. One last time she opened her mouth to address Hogwarts, "I expect you to carry on as normal until this date, the Christmas dance will be held on the twenty fifth of December just as noted and lessons start again on the eight," with this she bowed her head sadly and resumed her place with the teachers.

Hermione watched as the teacher took a sip from her goblet and quietly conversed with Snape. "What are we gonna do?" muttered Harry in her ear.

"Don't worry mate," began Ron, "I'm sure everything will turn out fine, it always does," he patted Harry's back and made every possible attempt to avoid Hermione's eye, still slightly annoyed and not ready to forgive her.

Harry shook his head, "no, you don't understand," he shouted banging his hand on the table, "I feel him. Voldemort. He's back, and this time, fighting him will be futile. He's never been so strong before," silence once again fell over the students of Hogwarts, horrified looks on their faces.

"Then what's he waiting for?" muttered Ginny, "why doesn't he just kill us all and get it over with?"

Harry looked at her sadly, "I don't know".

* * *

Hogwarts School as aflame with whispers and rumours of Harry Potters outburst for days, and most students seldom left their dormitories, however, as days past and Voldemort had not attacked, most decided to put it down to the crazy ravings of someone who had come close to death too many times. And, by the Christmas Eve, all anyone could possibly think about was choosing the right dress for the dance. Perhaps it was better this way, for a life spent thinking about death, is a half-life. The students had accepted that the Dark Lord had gained power… this was nothing new to them. 

Ron cringed deeply as Lavender waved lovingly at him from across the common room; she had been acting like this ever since he asked her to the dance. Hermione smiled from behind her book as Ron tried to hide his face, which was turning redder by the second. Harry, who had finally mustered up the courage to ask Ginny to go with him to the dance, had been off in a little world of his own ever since she accepted.

The head girl had decided to spend the morning with her friends in the Gryffindor common room, and within minutes things were as they were before. Almost. She still had something hanging over her shoulder… something, which she could not shrug off.

That girl. The one in her dream. She couldn't let her die… she must have had the dream for a reason, and she wasn't about to let another life slip through her fingers.

Hermione jumped up from her seat and ran to the window, peering down upon the Hogwarts grounds. Not a single sign of snow, and that was something to be thankful for, for the girl would be safe as long as the sky did not open up shower them with snowflakes.

She turned and looked over at her friends, "I have to go," she smiled, "Head girl duties and all that, I have to make sure everything is ready for the dance tomorrow. I need to give a list of things to the house elves that they need to do. Of course I think it's disgraceful how I am expected to allow these poor little creatures to do all that work… I would have done it myself but McGonagall insists…"

"Okay Hermione," interrupted Ron, "we'll see you later".

"Hmm?" she looked up mid-lecture, "oh right yes… bye", and with a small wave she walked out of the Gryffindor common room and back to her own one, stopping only to tell the password to the mermaid who sat gracefully in the picture.

She took a further step into the red and silver room, making as little noise as possible so as not to wake the blonde boy who was sleeping in front of the fire. His body was stretched across the sofa, his head propped up with a small square cushion. He looked so peaceful. Hermione stood at the edge of the sofa, looking at his perfect features, so innocent in his slumber.

"Hermione stop staring at me," he mumbled, making her jump.

"Okay," she whispered, not moving from where she was standing.

"Stop it," he muttered, finally opening his eyes and pulling her down on top of him, gently brushing his lips against hers. "So, did wonder boy and his sidekick stop sulking?" he teased.

"They were not sulking" Hermione corrected, "They were deeply upset, but I think they've gotten over it now".

"I am _so_ relieved (!)," Draco joked.

"Come with me to the dance tomorrow," he whispered into her ear, tickling her gently.

"I'm not going," she replied.

Draco sat up carefully, regarding her closely, he could see she was being deadly serious, "why not?" he questioned, trying to mask the hurt look on his face.

She shrugged, "too much is going on. I would feel insensitive to go, when an innocent girls life is at risk. Plus I have to be here in case it starts to snow".

He nodded. "You're a good person," a small smile played upon his lips as she once again snuggled down into his arms.

* * *

Lucius Malfoy bowed in the presence of his master, "My Lord," he smirked, "the potion is ready". 

"Excellent," hissed the Dark Lord, stroking his wand dangerously.

"The time has come, for little miss Granger to die at the hands of evil," he sneered, "I was her to suffer, and I want him to watch. I want to see the look of pain form across his face as he sees her die before his eyes".

The older Malfoy smiled to himself, his mind ablaze with thoughts, and what dark thoughts they were. He had the potion now, everything would fall into place, and the Gryffindor filth would play right into his hands. Draco would pay for his disobedience. And Lucius, planned to enjoy every second of it.


	13. As the snow begins to fall

**A/N: Once again, I would like to thank all those who have reviewed my previous chapter:**

**Also, as the end is drawing nearer in my story, and I would perhaps advise if readers went back and re-read the last premonition of Hermione's in chapter 10 if you do not remember it, as it is quite important.**

**I hope you enjoy chapter 13.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.**

* * *

As always Christmas day at Hogwarts was a joyous one, and the morning was spent opening gifts, exchanging pleasantries and eating breakfast. However, as the day wore on and seven o'clock drew nearer the girls, one by one headed for their dormitories in order to spend hours obsessing over hair and makeup so as to look suitably attractive for their dates. Where as the boys, would hang around the common rooms, playing exploding snap and wondering why on earth anyone would need three and a half hours to get dressed. 

Lavender, who made the mistake of assuming Ron cared how exactly she did her hair, decided to ask him, "Should I have it up?" she demonstrated, sweeping her hair up, "or shall I have it down?" she asked, allowing it to fall across her shoulders.

She waited expectantly whilst Ron, who having realised that this needed a well-chosen answer, tried to come up with the correct solution. "Erm," he muttered, looking around the room wildly for some help from the other boys, "how bout both?" he finally blurted.

"Both?" she mused, "Ronald Weasley you are a genius! Half up half down…. Why didn't I think of it!" she squealed and pecked the ginger boy quickly on the lips before rushing back up the stairs to her dormitory.

Ron, whose face colour now matched his hair, grinned to himself, putting his finger on his lips and decided, that this dance wasn't such a bad idea after all.

The Weasley boy was too caught up in a world on his own to notice when Hermione and Harry walked through the portrait, "what's up with him?" the head girl asked Neville. Neville turned to look where at Ron, who had not moved or blinked in about three minutes, "Lavender kissed him, I think he's had a minor heart attack".

Hermione grinned, "ahh, young love," however when Ron still failed to react she shrugged and continued taking to her friends, "well I just came along to wish you all good luck for tonight".

"What do you mean?" Harry asked, "aren't you coming?"

"I already told you I'm not," she reminded him.

"I thought you were joking," he replied.

The head girl rolled her eyes, "well anyway, I'll see you two tomorrow, and merry Christmas!" She waved goodbye to her friends and headed back to her own common room. Ron had still not moved.

* * *

Draco looked one last time in the mirror, checking his handsome reflection was at its usual level of perfection. As he looked a little closer into the mirror however, a sudden realisation scared him. He had changed. Not so much physically, however upon looking deeper, it was apparent that Draco looked like never before… he looked happy. The sneer, which once graced his lips, seemed to have morphed into somewhat of a smile, and his usually stormy eyes were now like two silver orbs, bright and alive. If his eyes were the windows to his heart, it would be apparent that Draco Malfoy was in love. Not that he would admit this to himself. Not yet. 

He had decided to attend the dance without a partner, and was adamant to have a good time, however such aims were fast forgotten whenever he thought of Hermione. He had considered not going, however, it was as though he were trying to prove to himself that he was not infact in love with Miss Granger, and was capable to spend the evening out of her company.

With this thought in mind, Draco strode out of his room and down to the common room, where he found Hermione sitting on the sofa in her Pyjamas, reading a book. She looked up from the pages at the sound of footsteps and smiled at the sight of the blonde Slytherin.

"Are you sure you don't mind me going?" Draco asked awkwardly.

"Don't be so ridiculous, I'm fine!" the head girl lied giving him a gentle nudge through the portrait.

He turned and smiled at her, giving her a quick peck on the cheek before the portrait swung shut behind him. The head girl was left alone in the common room with her thoughts.

She took a deep breath and inwardly chided herself for acting so weak. She didn't own him. Draco had every right to go to the dance without her; if anyone were to blame, it would be her for not going with him. Hermione slowly made her way back to the sofa, and sat down, allowing the warmth of the lit fire to comfort her. She adamantly erased any unwanted thoughts from her mind, and allowed herself to slip deeper into the words in front of her, until eventually she was in a different world, lost within the pages of her book.

* * *

As Draco entered the great hall, it had to be said, that there was no way to describe its grandeur and beauty in few words. He and Hermione had spent hours arguing over little details, and now, it had all paid off. One could clearly see the head girl's style and heart had gone into this and each exquisite detail made the whole thing more surreally perfect. The ground was thickly covered with fake snow and ice sculptures decorated the room. 

And yet, all Draco could think of as he stepped into this winter wonderland was the girl who should be by his side. He slipped into the room, a cup of punch poised in his hand, and just from the way he drank, so gracefully, it made one want to stop and paint his perfect features.

A few fourth year girls stood in a huddle close by, eyeing him with much enthusiasm. Draco tried to ignore their continuous giggling whilst downing the last of his drink and for lack of anything better to do, circled the room, finally taking a seat with a gang of Slytherin boys. He tried hard to stay part of the conversation, however, much to his anger; he kept finding his thoughts with the brown-eyed Gryffindor he had become so fond of.

* * *

Somewhere far away, in a dark room stood a certain Malfoy, stroking a bottle of a certain concoction, as he held it tightly in his hands. It just so happened that this little potion was the key part in his plan for revenge. 

The man looked into the fire collecting his thoughts, and preparing himself, for what he had decided, would be a rather entertaining evening. Very dramatic if he did say so himself. Lucius couldn't help but be proud of his little plan.

"It is time," he muttered to himself, then in a louder voice he added, "let the fun begin," a dark smirk apparent on his face as he pictured the nights events in his mind.

* * *

He watched her from where he stood, so beautiful as she lost herself within the pages before her. And for the first time Draco didn't know what to say. As he looked at the girl, his stomach seemed to tie itself in knots, and this scared him, as such emotions were not meant for Malfoy's. And yet he liked the way she made him feel so nervous and so excited at the same time. 

"Now who's the one staring?" joked Hermione, as she finally noticed his presence. "Why aren't you at the dance?" she asked, marking her page and closing the large book, looking up at the boy curiously.

He didn't answer straight away, instead bit his lip, as though carefully considering an answer, then, eventually he said what his heart told him, "It made no sense for me to be at the dance, when the person I want to be with, is right here"

"Oh" Hermione smiled, a small blush tinting her cheeks.

"Would you like to dance?" he asked her shyly.

She looked at him as though he were crazy, "Draco, there's no music".

"So what?" he mumbled pulling her out of her chair,

"And I'm wearing my Pyjamas"

He shrugged pulling her closer, not caring that they looked ridiculous, swaying slowly to no music whatsoever. One can only suppose that love does funny things to your mind.

Neither noticed, that outside a small snowflake fell slowly to the ground before it melted and disappeared forever. As if on queuethousands of identical flakes began to fall to the ground, eventually thickening and began to settle upon the grounds of Hogwarts; with them, bringing the inevitable evil which would change the young lovers lives forever.


	14. Silent music

**A/N: Thank you to everyone who has bothered to read this story, and a special thank you to everyone who has reviewed.**

**I would like to also correct a mistake I made in the previous chapter, I said in the 'author's note' that Hermione's last premonition was in chapter 10 where as infact it was in chapter 9. Sorry for any inconvenience.**

**Please read and review.**

**This isn't really a chapter as it is so short. It's more like a link from chapter thirteen to chapter fifteen.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.**

* * *

They stood entwined in the centre of the common room, clinging onto each other; swaying slowly to music only they could hear, for it played solely in their hearts. Whilst outside, a perfect blanket of snow covered the Hogwarts grounds. It had begun. Neither knew it yet, but the evil they had been waiting for, was about to cause more havoc then they expected. 

But for now, they danced.

The blond boy leaned down, and kissed her perfect lips, smiling as his heart soared, but still unable to say those three little words neither had dared to utter. And in this moment in time, both were content to stay like that forever, in each other's arms.

But fate had other plans for them.

With a small glance towards the window, everything came to a halt. She saw it, the perfect whiteness falling from the sky and in this moment she broke free of their embrace and ran to the window, a sinking feeling now present in her stomach. "What are we going to do?" she whispered, not bothering to hide her fear.


	15. In the shadows

**A/N: Once again I would like to thank everyone who is reading this. It's harder than I imagined to write a fic and see it through to the end so; it's nice to know some people are following it. Also thank you so much to my reviewers!**

**I have had the ending planned right from the start and so I think there should be one or two more chapters until I reach the end. I will try and make chapter sixteen long. **

**I hope you enjoy.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. **

* * *

The deafening sound of silence filled the room momentarily as the two students stared helplessly out of the window. Tearing his eyes away from the falling whiteness, Draco looked down at the Gryffindor girl. There were tears silently falling from her eyes as panic gripped her stomach and a feeling of helplessness overcame her. 

"Shh," he whispered, gently wiping away her tears, "don't worry".

"What do you mean don't worry?" She shouted, "a girl's going to be murdered and there is nothing we can do about it! Don't tell me not to worry!" The head girl fell to her knees helplessly and after a second, the Slytherin prince knelt down beside her, taking a hold of her hand, comforting her with reassuring words.

"If only I could have seen her face," she mumbled in a much quieter voice, "we could have warned her". She remained silent, many what ifs going through her mind. And then, amongst all the futile thoughts, something occurred to her, she looked up at the blonde boy, and after a moments contemplation she asked quietly, "the man in my dream… I'm sure it was your father, but what could the girl have possibly done to him to make him kill her?

He shrugged carelessly, however, as he subconsciously processed the question through him mind, he remembered something his father once said, and a look of horror replaced the boys previously calm features.

_Flashback._

"_I could kill you now… but what's the fun in that?" He snarled, not releasing his son from the curse until he had said all he had to, "first I'm going to take away everything you have, kill everyone you love, until on the inside you are nothing more than a burnt out fire. Then, I will torture you to such extremities, you will be begging me to kill you and let your torment be over." He snarled, "Do you really think you can refuse the Dark Lord and get away with it, you are a disgrace Draco, you are no son of mine"._

_End of Flashback. _

Draco looked up at Hermione, the words, "kill everyone you love," resounding in his ears.

He leapt up from where they were sitting, "I need to talk to McGonagall," he explained, rushing around in an attempt to find his wand. "Stay here".

"I'm coming with you," the brown-eyed Gryffindor insisted, standing up from the window, and wiping her tear stained face.

"NO!" he shouted, then continued in a shaky voice, "You're safer here. Promise me you won't leave this room until I get back".

"But…"

"Promise me!" He insisted.

The girl could see something in his eyes she had never seen before. Fear. She nodded reluctantly and watched as he ran out of the room in order to find a teacher.

Draco had never been so scared in his whole life. Scared of loosing the one thing he truly cared for. Hermione. He knew his heart controlled his actions now, and he would do anything to protect her. He was adamant to keep her out of harms way.

If only he knew, his actions were doing the exact opposite.

And as Draco Malfoy rushed down the long dimly lit corridor in order to change what seemed to be fated, he played into the hands of inevitability. He did not notice the other shadow, which walked behind his, nor did he notice the hand reach out from behind him until it was too late. He felt the cold fingers wrap around his mouth and another hand taking hold of his neck, restricting his breathing. The blonde boy attempted to struggle free, however every time he did, the fingers around his neck tightened.

He could do nothing as the figure dragged him backwards, deeper into the shadows of Hogwarts school.

Thinking fast the boy made a reach for his wand, however, before his fingers had even entered his pocket something sharp struck him on the back of the head, causing him to fall to the floor, momentarily blinded with pain. As he lifted a shaking hand up to his skull, warm blood spilled onto his hands, staining the crisp white of his shirt sleeve to a brilliant crimson.

Using up the last of his strength, he made a futile attempt to scream out, however his cries were wasted in the empty space around him. As Draco Malfoy collapsed hard on the cold concrete floor, he could have sworn he heard laughter.

* * *

A hooded figure stood silently next to the unconscious form of Draco Malfoy, he looked down upon him, a pretentious smirk resting on his lips. Lucius had offered his son more power than he could have dreamed of, and the ungrateful little bastard ruined everything. He lowered his hood glaring down at his son; he had waited a long time for this… and now, he planned to enjoy every second of his torment. 

He glared down at his only son and heir and snarled, as though he were looking at something filthy stuck on the bottom of his boot. "Wake up boy," he commanded having lost all patience, "you're ruining my schedule," and with this he kicked him carelessly, waking him from his unconsciousness.

The blond boy blinked hard, trying to work out where he was; he made an attempt to sit up, but a sharp pain surged through him and he instantly flung a hand up to his head, in an attempt to stop it from throbbing. The bleeding had stopped, but the pain was intensified with every move and yet despite all this, he kept the outer composure, which he had been taught. In his fathers presence there was one rule, and one rule only. Never show weakness.


	16. Worth dying for

**A/N: Firstly, as always, I would like to thank everyone who is reading this fic, and extra thanks to my reviewers. **

**I did make an attempt to write a long chapter sixteen but I just wasn't pleased with what I was writing so I cut it shorter and fingers crossed inspiration will strike for chapter seventeen. It's really annoying when I sit in front of the computer for hours, trying to work out how to continue the sentence, so in the end I gave up, and decided to post what little I did come up with.**

**I hope you all enjoy it anyways and please review and give me your thoughts or comments. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.**

* * *

Hate. It coursed through his veins like fire. He glared up at the man in front of him, not bothering to hide look of anger, which had contorted his features. He wanted to punch him, scream and shout at him, Draco wanted to knock that smug expression right off the bastards face. But instead he sat silently on the cold stone floor observing the room around him, whilst waiting for his father to speak. He couldn't work out where they were, however one thing was for sure; they were no longer in Hogwarts School.

"You repulse me Draco," Lucius spat, gently fingering a small bottle in his hand whilst choosing his next words carefully, so as to ensure they contained the perfect amount of malaise and spite. After all, Lucius prided himself on being a perfectionist in all aspects of his life. "I hear you're screwing that mudblood now," he smirked, "I never thought even you would become that desperate".

It took all the self-control Draco could muster to restrain himself from attacking the older Malfoy. Lucius regarded him calmly, waiting to see if he had gotten a reaction, however when Draco remained silent, he continued his verbal torment.

"It's such a shame I'm going to have to kill the little slut," he smirked casually, "you have betrayed me Draco, and you have betrayed the Dark Lord, and for that, you will have to pay. However, I have a little proposition for you," he said, enjoying playing with the boys mind. "If you kill your little mudblood, I will let you live".

With these words, Draco used all of his energy to stand on his feet, so he could look into his fathers eyes. "I guess," he whispered, "some things are worth dying for," and before he could contemplate his thoughts he spat at the man whom as a child he had feared so much.

"ENOUGH!" Lucius roared, striking Draco hard with the back of his hand, causing him to fall to the floor once more. "You had your chance boy. I'm going to enjoy killing both of you".

He gently uncorked the small bottle which he had been holding, "Let's see if we can make this more interesting shall we?" he sneered, plucking one of Draco's perfect blond hairs and dropping it into the Polyjuice potion. Draco watched in horror as the man before him drank the potion, smashing the glass bottle on the floor once he had finished. Small shards of glass cut into the boy's arms, causing him to flinch, however, not once did he take his eyes off his father.

The man momentarily doubled over in pain, as a burning sensation rushed through him, it was as though his skin her on fire, melting as it were. And yet, through it all, he managed to keep his usual stern expression. The next time he looked up at his son, Draco gasped in horror. It was as though he were looking in a mirror. Lucius arranged Draco's features into a smirk as he slid a silver knife into his pocket and raised his wand, squarely at his son's chest.

"Polyjuice potion," the older Malfoy smirked, "an ingenious plan if I do say so myself. Not only do I get to kill the mudblood. But she dies thinking it was you who killed her," cold laughter echoed around the empty room. "Crucio," he snarled at last, taking great pleasure from watching his son suffer. Small moans escaped the boy's lips, however they went unnoticed as he began to shake uncontrollably.

"Try saving your little mudblood now," Lucius snarled, lifting his wand, releasing the boy from the curse. He turned to leave, gracefully walking out of the room in his son's body. He had to be quick before the potion wore off.

Draco Malfoy lay alone in the cold room, unconscious once more, unable to do anything to save his princess.


	17. Fate Destiny Inevitability

**A/N: Once again I would like to thank everyone who is reading, and especially those who are reviewing. **

**I really hope you all enjoy chapter seventeen and fingers crossed I will update the next chapter by the weekend.**

**Please review and give me your thoughts and comments.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.**

* * *

Fate. Destiny. Inevitability. Three little words, which control everything. Some people believe that everything we do here on earth, every step we take and every word we utter is down to fate. They say our lives have been mapped out for us since before we were born, and we are merely put on earth as a pawn, which the Gods have created. If this is so, then everything is justifiable because it was meant to be.

As chance would have it, Lucius Malfoy laughed at such things. He believed such words should be bound to the fictional world of stories, only used for fairy tales and other such nonsense.

And so, as he strode purposefully towards the common room which he knew the girl would be in, his mind was consumed with only thoughts of death and evil. He flicked a strand of blond hair out of his eye and smirked to himself, as he looked down at his seventeen year old body.

He stopped abruptly in front of a large portrait of a mermaid; she was sitting on a rock, carefully brushing her long golden hair, "password please," she smiled up at Lucius. He nodded; inwardly cursing whichever idiot came up with the idea of portraits guarding the common rooms. Digging deep into his pockets, he managed to retrieve a small scrap of paper on which was written in an untidy scrawl, the password which one of his servants had previously discovered for him.

"Horsehead nebulae," he read out, and, had the mermaid been playing close attention, she would have noticed the corners of his mouth twitching slightly into somewhat of a smile, most probably with excitement or anticipation of the evil he was about to cause.

The mermaid nodded, and with one final smile towards the blond man, the portrait swung open, allowing Lucius Malfoy to take his first step into the common room.

"Draco!" Hermione called to him, and for a second Lucius almost forgot that it was him she was calling, "I've been so worried! You've been gone ages," she said, rushing up to him. "What did McGonagall say?"

Lucius looked at her confused, but tried to recover quickly; he had heard the mudblood was clever, and he could not afford for his cover to be blown, "we don't have time for that now," he said in an urgent voice, "we have to get out of here".

"What are you talking about, we're safe here!" she insisted.

"Come on," he whispered urgently, lifting his hand up to stroke her cheek. Lucius tried not to recede at the touch of a mudblood's skin; it disgusted him, however as always, he managed to hide his emotions. "Do you trust me?" he asked as gently as it were possible for the older Malfoy to sound, and held out his had to her.

Hermione did not take it. Not straight away. Instead she looked at him suspiciously; there was something different about him, something in his eyes; something cold and dark, and it scared her. And yet, she knew these thoughts were unjustifiable; they made no sense, for this was the boy her heart was bound to. She looked at the hand held out to her, and she hesitantly took it.

* * *

In a dark room, far away from Hogwarts castle, a certain blond boy awoke from his unconscious state. He slowly put a shaking hand to his head, in an attempt to lessen the pulsating pain whilst trying to recollect his thoughts. A look of horror distorted his features as his memory came back to him in pieces. He scrabbled around, attempting to stand on his feet, his thoughts solely on saving his love. Of course he did not know it yet, but the feeling in his heart was one of love and desperation. For he did love her, whether he would yet admit it to himself or not. Either way, it was this feeling, burning deep inside his heart, which gave him the strength to stand, and somehow, he managed to ignore the pain, which the curse had inflicted upon his body.

He dug his hand deep into his pocket, desperately praying to anyone who may be listening, that his wand would be there. It was not.

"Shit," he cursed loudly, and the word was echoed repeatedly around the empty, dungeon-like room. He looked around wildly, trying to think of how to get back to Hogwarts. The blond boy slowly limped over to the large mahogany door, which was locked with some sort of intricate padlock. He looked down at it, inwardly cursing and shouting profanities.

He knew how Lucius 's mind worked; the lock was designed in such a way that Draco would be able to work out how to open it, however not in time to save the girl. He punched the door angrily with his fist, however immediately regretted it as a burning sensation shot up his arm.

Blinking furiously, Draco forced himself to concentrate on the lock, which stood before him and Hermione.


	18. Love’s a strange little thing

**A/N: I would like to thank all my wonderful reviewers: Monday Mornings, Janie Granger, KayeRyoko, couch-potato01, xXxThe coldness of lovExXx, PART-TIME SINNER, Kiwi-San. It's nice to know someone's reading what I write.**

**One more chapter to go after this one. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, (surprise surprise!). **

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Love is a strange little thing. It makes us do things we would otherwise have thought ourselves incapable of doing. It's like a force inside of each of us, which drives us to new extremes. It is the one emotion, which gives us courage in dark times and light in dark places. It's unjustifiable, and unexplainable, yet at the same time, it is humanities only saviour. People spend their whole lives searching for love, and when they find it, they wish for time itself to stop and to be frozen in the arms of the person they love. Forever. 

Its only downfall?

It's inescapable. You get caught up and your emotions soar sky high. You place all your trust into this one person, and this in turn, can be a downfall. She didn't yet know it, but it was Hermione's downfall.

And as she held tightly onto the hand of the man who stood before her, she trusted him with all her heart, for he in turn held the key to her very soul. Perhaps, had it not been for this emotion, she would not have forgotten that appearances can be deceiving.

Lucius was silently repulsed as he held onto the mudblood's hand gently pulling her out of the common room, and allowing his disguise to fool her into believing he was Draco. It was obvious she trusted him. As long as he looked like Draco, she would be using her heart rather than her brain. Perhaps it was this thought which made everything that little bit more enjoyably for Lucius' sadistic mind.

"Come on," he whispered, urging her to walk faster.

"Draco," she mumbled, "where are we going?"

"Outside of Hogwarts, far from the castle," he replied in a sincere voice, making it up as he went along, "we're not safe here, there are death eaters within the walls of Hogwarts".

He tried to hide the small smile which graced his lips as a gasp escaped from Hermione, "what about the girl in my dream?" The head girl asked him urgently.

Lucius tried as best he could to improvise, not knowing what she was talking about, "McGonagall said to leave it to her".

And with this, he pulled her towards the large doors of Hogwarts, and together they stepped outside into the biting cold; their warm breathes causing a small cloud of mist to form as the breathed out heavily. The snow still fell heavily from the sky. Hermione ran forward, trying to get far away from the building, however she came to a halt when she noticed Draco was not following her. She looked up at him questioningly, and he in turn returned her gaze, but remained silent.

Lucius dug his hand deep into his pocket, stroking the silver blade and enjoying its icy sharpness against his skin. He slowly walked over to her, pausing for the briefest of seconds in order to allow her to take in the perfect beauty of this moment. Then, as swiftly and his skilled hand could, Lucius pulled the silver knife from his pocket and slipped it easily into the soft flesh of her stomach. A look of shock filled her cinnamon brown eyes as they welled with tears of pain.

A shudder of revulsion passed through the man's body as her warm blood spilled onto his hands, staining the crisp white of his shirt sleeve to a brilliant crimson. Refusing to take his eyes from hers, he resolutely pulled the blade from her body and carelessly let it fall to the ground. It hit the earth with a dull thud, the ornate silver handle denting the snow.

She looked at him, a confused expression mingling with the pain she felt. Her breathing was haggard and blood began to trickle down from the corner of her mouth, the salty substance turning her lips a deep red. And yet, she determinedly used the last of her energy to speak, "why?"

He looked at her, a smirk resting upon his lips, "you don't think I loved a filthy mudblood like you?"

And that was all he needed to say. For in that moment, the girl gave up on her struggle to live, for they were the words she dreaded hearing the most. As the strength left her limbs she slumped forward leaning heavily on the blonde boy.

He watched silently as she struggled to remain conscious, her fingers scrabbled to find hold on his sleeve, still scared of falling into permanent darkness. He gently pushed her away and she crumpled to the floor, a small convulsion making her body shake. Her blood stained the perfect white snow to a deep crimson, but no one noticed.

Lucius turned around and picked up the blade from the ground, carefully wiping it on a cloth, and in that moment someone caught his eye. He smiled, as he noticed his son running towards the girl desperately. "It's too late!" the older Malfoy called out to him, "you're little mudblood is dead". Then, without a second glance back, Lucius slowly walked away, before the Polyjuice potion had even worn off.

The girl lay, taking a last laboured breath, drifting into a never-ending sleep.

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Draco Malfoy ran towards his love, refusing to believe she were dead. He fell to his knees beside her, not noticing the tears, which were falling from his eyes, "Hermione," he whispered, stroking her face with his hand, "don't die. Please," then, in a slightly more determined voice, he added, "you can't die; because I love you!" 

But she could no longer hear him.


	19. Changing everything

**A/N: And so, my story comes to an end. I would like to thank every single person who has reviewed my story because, firstly it's nice to know someone is reading the story, and secondly, you give me the will power to actually finish my stories!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.**

**There is one more very short chapter after this one; I should have it posted by the end of today… kind of an epilogue/ conclusion to my story.**

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They say a great love can change your life forever. They say it holds such power over a mans heart, that once true love has enchanted one's soul, everything changes. They say a great love lasts forever. And forever's such a long time.

And in that moment, as Draco cradled _his_ love in his arms he believed it with all his heart. He believed in the power of love.

He held onto her desperately, ignoring the blood, which had stained his robes, a sickening crimson colour and instead, Draco did something he had never before done. He prayed. With all his soul he prayed to anyone whom may be listening that they would spare her life, for he in turn was nothing without her. And if anyone could only see the desperation in his eyes, they would know, that this was a love like those they speak of in fairytales.

And as he cradled her lovingly in his arms, he did not notice the figure, which appeared behind him; not, that is, until in a calm and almost soothing voice, the man began to speak.

"Perhaps, it was destined this way," he whispered into the boy's ear. Draco looked up at the man, the anger clear in his eyes.

"Bring her back!" he muttered, still holding onto his love, "BRING HER BACK!"

Dumbledore shook his head sadly, "I can't".

"Please," the blond boy pleaded, not bothering to wipe away the tears which were streaming down his pale cheeks, "I'll do anything," then in a more determined voice, he repeated, "anything".

"I'm afraid, Miss Granger brought about her own demise," Dumbledore muttered, "by changing things which ought not to have been changed".

"You mean by saving me?" the blonde boy whispered, it was not so much a question, but more of a brief second of understanding. He looked down at the girl, her eyes closed, almost as though she were in a deep sleep.

"Let me go back!" he demanded, "stop it all from happening".

"Is that what you really want?" Dumbledore asked, the sadness in his eyes apparent, "you wish to go back, and stop her from saving you? You wish to die for her?"

"Some things, are worth dying for," he whispered, "You know, she died thinking it was me who killed her," the blond boy muttered, "How can I live on, knowing that?"

"However, you must remember, you will alter everything. She will live on as you wish, however she will live, not knowing of the love you shared, for you, in turn, will have erased it".

He looked down at her sadly for a brief moment, looking so peaceful in his arms; this is where she belonged, in his arms forever; there had to be another way. Dumbledore looked down at the grieving boy, wishing there was something he could do to lessen the pain. And perhaps there was.

"This is up to you now Draco, I can't make your decision for you," Dumbledore reached into his pocket, pulling out a familiar object. He held the time-turner briefly in his hand before passing it to the blonde boy. Draco looked at it, not knowing what to do, however, when he looked up to ask the old man for help, he was gone.

He looked down one last time at the girl which had changed his world so much, trying in his mind to think of another solution; for it was not the dying which he feared, it was the fact he would never again be able to hold her in his arms, never again be able to love and kiss her. He could not bear the thought of her growing old without him, falling in love with another, never knowing of the love they had shared. But perhaps Dumbledore was right, perhaps destiny had doomed their relationship from the start, perhaps it was just not meant to be.

And, it was in this moment, when something occurred to the young Malfoy. If fate had already doomed their love, then he could go back, and stop it from happening. Intervene so to speak.

The thought itself sickened him, however, deep down he knew his mind had already been made. Lucius had killed her, to torture Draco, however if he had never fallen in love with her, she would still be alive.

He looked down at the time-turner and with no further hesitation; he turned it back… back to where it had all started.

* * *

**ONE MONTH LATER:**

He looked at her from afar, longing to have her once more in his arms, but it was just not meant to be. They spoke occasionally, whenever it was necessary to carry out head boy and girl duties; but it just wasn't enough.

So much had changed in the time, which had passed; Lucius had been arrested for the murder of Narcissa, and time at Hogwarts was drawing to an end; it was finally time for Draco to take his first steps into the world as a man. And yet, within his soul, he felt as though something were missing. Life itself had become monotonous and monochrome. He may have erased their love to save her life, but, he hadn't forgotten, and perhaps he never would, for it was the memory of it all that got him through each day.

"You, know" came a calm voice from behind him which Draco immediately recognised, "you erased that which was most dear to you Draco, and this proves to me that you are a better person than you give yourself credit for". He head master's eyes twinkled for a moment, as he took a seat beside the Slytherin boy; they were under a large tree on the grounds of Hogwarts. The old man leaned easily against the bark of the tree, allowing the sun to warm his face. Draco remained silent.

"It doesn't have to end here you know," he continued, "perhaps, without knowing it, she still loves you".

Draco looked at the old man, as though he had suddenly grown another head.

"You may have changed the past Draco, but the future has not yet been mapped out. Perhaps, you should try and win her back?" Dumbledore smiled calmly and stood up from where he was sitting, "think about it," he added, before walking off in the direction of Hagrid house, decidedly going to pay the large man a visit.


	20. To love her

**_Epilogue:_**

**3 YEARS LATER:**

Every man and every woman are placed upon this earth with a destiny; some are destined to change the course of history, fight great evil or be the rulers of great countries; whereas others are put on this earth to love. It is as though they are created with something missing, and they spend their whole lives searching for the one person who completes them. And once they have find their love, they discover a passion so deep it defies everything.

He held onto her as she slept peacefully in his arms… where she belonged. It scared Draco to think how close he had been to loosing her. He smiled as Hermione snuggled closer to him for warmth and, as though to comfort her, placed his hand lovingly on the small bump on her stomach, smiling proudly at the thought of being a father. And in that moment, Draco knew that this is why _he_ was put on earth. To love her.


End file.
